CN104321592B - Portable information terminal and its control method and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a kind of control method and program of portable information terminal.When in layout with detecting the selection for the icon for representing air conditioner in the range of the region suitable more than some room of predetermined area, the adjustment region that the design temperature that the region suitable with some room, which is switched to, makes air conditioner changes.On the other hand, when detecting the selection for the icon for representing the air conditioner in more than one object-based device in the range of suitable with other rooms below predetermined area region in layout, the adjustment picture of the design temperature change in the air conditioner of the region setting suitable with other rooms is set overlappingly to be shown in display picture.According to the above, the display for the layout having shown that can be diverted as adjustment picture effectively using resource is shown, while suppressing the use of other operation screen as much as possible.And then, the adjustment picture of air conditioner is shown in the small room of size in layout, therefore, it is possible to substantially ensure that the operating area of user.

Description

Portable information terminal, control method thereof, and recording medium

technical field

The present invention relates to a control method and program for a portable information terminal.

Background technique

A technique of remotely monitoring or remotely controlling a plurality of home appliances using one remote controller has been proposed.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for remotely operating a plurality of home appliances from a monitor of a television. Specifically, a technique is disclosed in which a plurality of icons of home appliances are displayed on the right side of the monitor screen, and when an arbitrary icon is selected from among them (i), a layout diagram is displayed on the left side of the monitor screen (ii) , when the cursor (pointer) is moved to the installation position of the home appliance to be operated in the layout plan (iii), the operation screen (iv) of the home appliance selected by the cursor movement is displayed on the monitor screen (p. 0138 ~ paragraph 0140 and Fig. 25(a), Fig. 25(b)).

Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for controlling a plurality of home appliances by a single remote controller. Specifically, the layout of each room and the situation in the room are displayed on the liquid crystal monitor of the remote controller. For example, displaying on the LCD monitor lighting signs (signs, symbols) displayed when the lighting equipment in a certain room is turned on, room temperature signs indicating the current temperature of a certain room, marking the windows when the windows of a certain room are locked A hatched lock mark, a device/equipment mark indicating the status of the object to be controlled, a mark indicating the amount of hot water when the control object is a bathtub, etc. (paragraphs 0037 to 0041 and FIG. 6 ).

Patent Document 3 relates to a technology for remote control and remote monitoring of the opening and closing operation and state confirmation of electric building materials (entrance doors, sunroofs). Specifically, on the monitor screen of a personal computer, layout drawings of the first floor and second floor corresponding to objects (items) are displayed, and graphics of electric building materials (entrance doors, skylights) are displayed at corresponding positions of each layout The status display icon describes the switch status of the electric building material. When the status display icon is selected, the operation screen of the selected electric building material is displayed through a separate window. The operation screen includes an ON operation button, an OFF operation button, a hidden motion monitor screen, and a button for the operation screen (paragraph 0025 and FIGS. 4 , 5 , and 6 ).

Patent Document 4 discloses a user interface including a layout diagram and icons. Examples of icons include an icon representing an outlet, an icon representing a digital photo frame, and an icon representing a lighting device ( FIGS. 7 and 8B ).

Patent Document 5 discloses a user interface of a lighting system. The icon associated with a certain light source is dragged toward the inner side of the object area on the screen, and the closer the icon moves to the center of the object area, the stronger the light intensity of the corresponding light source is.

However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 to the above-mentioned Patent Document 5, further improvement is required.

prior art literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-104567

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-138979

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-213107

Patent Document 4: Specification of US Patent No. 7,730,223

Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent No. 5128489

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the above problems, one technical solution of the present invention is a control method of a portable information terminal, which is connected to a network controlling one or more target devices and has a touch panel display. The execution of the computer of the portable information terminal includes the steps of: displaying a display screen showing a layout diagram of a building on the touch panel display; and displaying an icon representing each of the one or more target devices. In the step of displaying the display screen of the floor plan, the one or more object devices include an air conditioner; and when it is detected in the floor plan within an area corresponding to a room exceeding a predetermined area, it indicates that the When an icon of an air conditioner in one or more target devices is selected, switching an area corresponding to the one room to an adjustment area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner; When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less, displaying an adjustment screen superimposed on the display screen, The adjustment screen is a screen for changing the set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room; When moving inside, outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the amount of movement of the contact to the network.

According to the technical solutions described above, further improvements can be achieved.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a home control system to which a home controller is applied according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing main devices controlled by a home controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing configurations of a home controller, devices, and servers according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an installation form of a home controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a basic screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a floor plan of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a layout diagram including arrangement information of device icons in text format in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a layout diagram including arrangement information of device icons as images in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a layout diagram including arrangement information of device icons as images in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of transition between the display state of the first floor and the display state of the second floor on the basic screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display state of a device control screen of a home controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of device icons in a display state of a device control screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display state of a device control screen of a home controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of device icons in a display state of a device control screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of device icons in a display state of a device control screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of device icons in a display state of a device control screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a display state of a device control screen of a home controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of transition of display states between the basic screen of the home controller and the device control screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a diagram showing an example of transition between the display state of the second floor on the basic screen of the home controller and the display state of the device control screen on the second floor of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

20 is a diagram showing an example of transition from the display state of the device control screen of a certain device to the display state of the device control screen of another device in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of transition between a display state and a non-display state of the device control screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a transition animation from the basic screen of the home controller to the display state of the device control screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a transition dynamic screen from the basic screen of the home controller to the display state of the device control screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 24 is a diagram showing the configuration of a device icon list display screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 25 is a diagram showing an example of transition between the basic screen of the home controller and the device icon list display screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of transition of the display states of the device icon list display screen and the device control screen of the home controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 27 is a diagram showing an example of transition of display states between the basic screen of the home controller and the device control screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 28 is a diagram showing how the display state of the home controller continuously transitions to the display state of the device control screen of a different device in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a display example of a basic screen of a device that cannot be detected on the network in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 30 is a diagram showing the structure of family information according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 31 is a diagram showing the structure of vertex information according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 32 is a diagram showing the structure of room information according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 33 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence between vertex information and a floor plan of the first floor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the configuration of a device list managed by a server in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 35 is a diagram showing the structure of a device list managed by a home controller in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 36 is a sequence diagram (sequence) showing the flow of processing for the home controller to acquire home information from the server in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow of the home controller detecting devices on the network when the home controller is connected to the network in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow of a home controller detecting a device on the network when the device is connected to the network in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39A is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of a home controller controlling a device in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 39B is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the home controller controlling the devices in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a flow chart showing a processing flow of a home controller generating a control command of a device according to the content of contact of a contact object in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 41 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for sending a control command by the home controller in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing in which the home controller directly controls devices in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 43 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing by the home controller to control the devices via the server in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 44 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing for the home controller to acquire the status of devices from the server in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow of a home controller directly controlling a device in a case where the home controller controls a plurality of devices by one operation in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 46 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow of a home controller controlling a device via a server in a case where the home controller controls a plurality of devices by one operation in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow of a home controller controlling a device via a server in a case where the home controller controls a plurality of devices by one operation in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 48 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing when moving device icons in the home controller in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing for updating the device lists of the home controller and server in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 50 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing for updating the device lists of the home controller and server in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 51 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing for updating the device lists of the home controller and server in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 52 is a diagram showing a layout diagram of another pattern in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 53 is a diagram showing the configuration of a basic screen using the floor plan shown in FIG. 52 .

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a display state of a device control screen when the floor plan shown in FIG. 52 is adopted.

Fig. 55 is a diagram explaining the transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the device control screen.

Fig. 56 is a diagram showing the configuration of the floor plan when the size of each room is changed in accordance with the actual room size in the floor plan shown in Fig. 52 .

FIG. 57 is a diagram showing the configuration of a basic screen using the floor plan shown in FIG. 56 .

FIG. 58 is a diagram showing a display state of a device control screen when the floor plan shown in FIG. 56 is adopted as the floor plan.

Fig. 59 is a diagram showing a layout of still another mode in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 60 is a diagram showing the configuration of a basic screen using the floor plan shown in FIG. 59 .

FIG. 61 is a diagram showing a display state of a device control screen when the floor plan shown in FIG. 59 is adopted.

FIG. 62 is a diagram showing a floor plan displayed on a monitor when the user performs an operation to zoom in and display (pinchout) a certain room in the floor plan shown in FIG. 59 .

FIG. 63 is a diagram showing a display state of a device control screen in the enlarged display layout shown in FIG. 62 .

Fig. 64 is a diagram showing screen transition from the display state of the basic screen to the display state of the device control screen.

FIG. 65 is a diagram showing the configuration of the basic screen when a method of not displaying device icons is adopted in the basic screen using the layout diagram shown in FIG. 59 .

FIG. 66 is a diagram showing screen transition from the display state of the basic screen to the display state of the device control screen when the basic screen that does not display the device icon is adopted.

FIG. 67 is a diagram showing the structure of household information when the floor plan shown in FIG. 52 is adopted.

Fig. 68 is a diagram showing the structure of room information shown in Fig. 67 .

Fig. 69 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence between display positions and floor plans in the room information shown in Fig. 67 .

Fig. 70 is a diagram showing the configuration of a device list managed by a server when the layout shown in Fig. 52 is adopted.

Fig. 71 is a diagram showing the configuration of a device list managed by the home controller when the layout shown in Fig. 52 is adopted.

Fig. 72 is a diagram showing a transition between a display state of a basic screen and a display state of an air conditioner control screen as a device control screen of an air conditioner in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 73 is a diagram showing screen transitions when an operation to change the left and right wind direction of the air conditioner is input in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 74 is a screen transition showing the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the air conditioner control screen in the case where the method of displaying information on the operating state of the air conditioner in the control target area is adopted in one embodiment of the present invention; diagram.

Fig. 75 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display state of an air conditioner control screen at high temperature setting in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 76 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display state of an air conditioner control screen at low temperature setting in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 77 is a diagram showing an operation example of the vertical airflow direction of the air conditioner using the air conditioner control screen in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 78 is a diagram showing an operation example of the left and right wind directions of the air conditioner using the air conditioner control screen in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 79 is a diagram showing an example of operation of the air volume of the air conditioner using the air conditioner control screen in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 80A is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of a home controller controlling a device in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 80B is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the home controller controlling the devices in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 81 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen at S31010 shown in FIG. 80B in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 82 is a diagram showing an operation example of setting temperature of the air conditioner using the air conditioner control screen in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen shown in S31010 of FIG. 80B in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 84 is a diagram showing another example of transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the air conditioner control screen in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 85 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display state of an adjustment area in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 86 is a diagram showing an operation example of the set temperature of the air conditioner using the adjustment area in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 87 is a diagram showing a device control sequence when a plurality of air conditioners are installed in a room corresponding to an adjustment area in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 88 is a diagram showing another example of an equipment control sequence when a plurality of air conditioners are installed in a room corresponding to an adjustment area according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 89 is a diagram showing an example of operation of the set temperature of the air conditioner using the adjustment area in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 90 is a diagram showing an example of operation of the set temperature of the air conditioner using the adjustment area in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 91A is a flowchart showing another example of the processing of the home controller to control the devices in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 91B is a flowchart showing another example of processing by the home controller to control devices in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 92 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen shown in S32110 of FIG. 91B in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 93 is a diagram showing another example of transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the air conditioner control screen in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 94 is a diagram showing another example of transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the air conditioner control screen in the embodiment of the present invention.

95 is a diagram showing another example of an adjustment area displayed when an air conditioner icon arranged in a room area of a certain size or less is selected in an embodiment of the present invention.

96 is a diagram showing still another example of an adjustment area displayed when an air conditioner icon arranged in a room area of a certain size or less shown in FIG. 94 is selected in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 97 is a diagram showing an operation example using the adjustment area shown in FIG. 96 in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 98A is a flow chart showing still another example of processing by the home controller to control devices in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 98B is a flow chart showing still another example of processing by the home controller to control devices in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 99A is a flowchart showing still another example of processing of the home controller to control devices in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 99B is a flow chart showing still another example of the processing of the home controller controlling the devices in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 100 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display state of an air conditioner control screen in which an effective range is displayed in a control target area in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 101 is a diagram showing a structure of room information used in an example of controlling an air conditioner in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 102 is a diagram showing the structure of an equipment list used in an example of controlling an air conditioner in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 103 is a diagram showing an effect range when the wind direction is changed in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 104 is a diagram showing a layout diagram in which an air conditioner control screen is eliminated in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 105 is a diagram showing an effect range when the air volume is changed in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 106 is a diagram showing an effect range in which the effect is high or low in a hierarchical manner in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 107A is a flowchart of still another example of the processing of the home controller to control the devices in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 107B is a flowchart showing still another example of processing by the home controller to control devices in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 108 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen in S33710 of FIG. 107B in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 109 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen in S33710 of FIG. 107B in one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 110 is a diagram showing an example of operation using the effect range of a contact object in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 111 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the home controller when an effective range is operated in one embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

(the process of inventing a technical solution involved in the present invention)

First, the focus of a technical solution involved in the present invention will be described.

In the aforementioned Patent Document 1, icons of a plurality of home appliances are displayed on the right side of the monitor screen, and a layout diagram is displayed on the left side of the monitor screen. That is, the icons of multiple household appliances are displayed separately from the layout diagram, and the icons of multiple household appliances cannot be moved. Therefore, designation of the installation position of the home appliance to be operated in the layout plan is performed by moving the cursor. Then, the operation screen is displayed.

Due to the above-mentioned structure, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the number of operation steps until the operation screen of a desired home appliance is displayed is the above-mentioned (i) to (iv), and the number of operation steps is large. Therefore, when using one remote controller to remotely monitor or remotely control a plurality of home appliances, the operation steps (i) to (iv) above are required for the operation of each home appliance, and the operation becomes complicated. In this way, if only the remote controllers of a plurality of household electrical appliances are integrated into one remote controller, a larger number of processing steps will be required for the portable information terminal until a desired one of the plurality of household electrical appliances is operated. , will require more processing operations from the user.

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, only the state display of each home appliance is performed, and there is no description of remotely controlling the operation of each home appliance. Therefore, although it is possible to remotely monitor a plurality of home appliances using one remote controller, it cannot perform remote control.

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 3, a personal computer is used to perform remote control and remote monitoring of the opening and closing operation and status confirmation of electric building materials (entrance doors, sunroofs). However, the content of the remote control is limited to the simple control of switching action, without considering the inherent operation of other home appliances. In the aforementioned Patent Document 3, an operation screen is always displayed by selecting a status display icon.

In the aforementioned Patent Document 4, for example, an operation screen of a lighting device or an operation screen of a digital photo frame is displayed ( FIG. 8B ). The operation screen of the lighting device includes a button for controlling ON/OFF of the lighting device, a button for setting the brightness of the lighting device, and a button for checking the state of the lighting device. However, inherent operations of other home appliances are not considered. In the aforementioned Patent Document 4, the operation screen is always displayed by selecting each icon.

The aforementioned Patent Document 5 discloses that, for example, an icon is moved from the outside of the target area to the inside of the target area to control the light intensity of a lighting device in a room corresponding to the target area. However, inherent operations of other home appliances are not considered.

Based on the above studies, the present inventors conceived the following aspects of the invention.

One aspect of the present invention is a control method of a portable information terminal that is connected to a network that controls one or more target devices and that has a touch panel display,

The control method includes the following steps for the computer execution of the portable information terminal:

a step of displaying a display screen representing a layout plan of a building on the touch panel display;

a step of displaying an icon representing each of the one or more target devices, including an air conditioner, on a display screen representing the floor plan;

When selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to a room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, the area corresponding to the one room a step of switching to an adjustment area that changes the set temperature of the air conditioner;

When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within a range corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an adjustment screen is displayed in an overlapping manner. In the step of displaying a screen, the adjustment screen is a screen for changing a set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room;

When it is detected that the touch on the touch panel display moves within the adjustment area or the adjustment screen, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch is output to the The steps of the network.

According to this aspect, when selection of an icon for displaying an air conditioner is detected within an area corresponding to a certain room in the floor plan, the area corresponding to a certain room is used as a place for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner. region to use.

That is, instead of separately displaying a dedicated screen for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, an area corresponding to a certain room in the floor plan itself is also used as an area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of steps for displaying the operation screen independently of the floor plan as in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 3, and Patent Document 4 above, thereby reducing the number of processing steps in the portable information terminal and the number of user operations. As a result, when the remote controllers of one or more target devices are integrated, the number of processes in the portable information terminal and the number of user operations can be reduced, and the time required to operate a desired target device can be shortened.

In addition, as described above, the area itself corresponding to a certain room in the floor plan is used as an operation screen for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, and the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed. 2, the display of the floor plan is only used to display the operating state of the lighting equipment, but it can also be used for the remote operation of the air conditioner.

On the other hand, in a room with a small size in the layout plan, if the area corresponding to the room is also used as an adjustment area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, since the area corresponding to the room is small, sufficient Adjustment range.

According to this aspect, when the selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among one or more target devices is detected in an area corresponding to another room with a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, the air conditioner installed in the area corresponding to the other room The adjustment screen of the set temperature change of the machine is superimposed on the display screen.

As a result, when selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among one or more target devices is detected in an area corresponding to one room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, the area corresponding to one room is also used as the The adjustment area for the set temperature change of the air conditioner. On the other hand, when selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among one or more target devices is detected in an area corresponding to another room with a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an area corresponding to another room is additionally displayed. Adjustment screen of the set temperature change of the air conditioner that is set.

Therefore, it is possible to effectively use display resources by diverting the display of the already displayed floor plan into an adjustment screen, while suppressing the use of another operation screen as much as possible. Furthermore, since the adjustment screen of the air conditioner is displayed in a room with a small size in the floor plan, it is possible to ensure a sufficient operating area for the user. Furthermore, in this configuration, since the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed according to the movement amount of the touch on the touch panel display, intuitive operation of the air conditioner can be realized.

In addition, in the above aspect, for example, the adjustment screen may be a screen in which an area corresponding to the other room is enlarged and displayed.

In this case, a screen in which an area corresponding to another room included in the floor plan is enlarged and displayed is used as an adjustment screen. Accordingly, during operation, the same adjustment range can be ensured equally for the area corresponding to one room and the area corresponding to another room.

In addition, in the above manner, for example, the adjustment screen may be superimposed and displayed on the display screen at the center of the display screen.

In this case, since the adjustment screen is displayed at the center of the display screen, it is possible to make the adjustment screen stand out more than the display screen.

In addition, in the above method, for example, it may further include: when the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even when the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, outputting, to the network, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the contact including the excess portion.

In this case, the user can also use the area beyond the adjustment screen to change the set temperature of the air conditioner. Therefore, the user can effectively use the display with a limited display area to change the set temperature of the air conditioner. In addition, it can be determined whether or not an area beyond the adjustment screen is used to change the set temperature of the air conditioner based on whether or not the movement starting point of the touch is within the range of the adjustment screen.

In addition, in the above-mentioned form, for example, when the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess part may not adjust the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch. Variety.

In this case, the range of the touch movement for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner is limited within the area of the adjustment screen, so that the movement amount of the touch movement becomes excessively large and the set temperature of the air conditioner cannot be changed. The amount becomes excessively large. In addition, even if the touch on the display moves beyond the adjustment screen, the set temperature may also cause discomfort to the user. However, by setting this limit, it is possible to prevent such discomfort to the user. . In addition, there is no need to recognize an area beyond the adjustment screen as an area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, and the processing load can be reduced.

In addition, in the above mode, for example, the larger the movement of the contact, the greater the change in the set temperature of the air conditioner, and the smaller the movement of the contact, the greater the change in the setting temperature of the air conditioner. The smaller the change in temperature.

In this case, since the set temperature can be changed by the amount of change corresponding to the amount of movement of the contact, it is possible to implement an operation that is easy for the user to understand.

In addition, in the above method, for example, it may further include: when the movement start point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment area, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the area corresponding to the one room and outputting, to the network, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount including the contact amount of the excess portion.

In this case, the user can also use the area beyond the adjustment area to change the set temperature of the air conditioner. Therefore, the user can effectively use the display with a limited display area to change the set temperature of the air conditioner. In addition, whether or not an area beyond the adjustment area is used to change the set temperature of the air conditioner can be determined by whether or not the movement starting point of the contact is within the range of the adjustment area.

In addition, in the above-mentioned form, for example, when the movement of the contact exceeds an area corresponding to the one room, the excess part may not be performed according to the movement amount of the contact so that the air conditioner may The set temperature of the machine changes.

In this case, the range of the contact movement for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner is limited within the adjustment area, so that the movement amount of the contact movement becomes excessively large and the change amount of the set temperature of the air conditioner is prevented from being excessively large. get bigger. In addition, by setting this restriction, the user can be made aware that the range related to the change of the set temperature is within the room where the air conditioner is installed.

In addition, another mode is, for example, a method of controlling a portable information terminal that is connected to a network that controls one or more target devices and that has a touch panel display,

The control method includes the following steps for the computer execution of the portable information terminal:

a step of displaying a display screen representing a layout plan of a building on the touch panel display;

a step of displaying, on a display screen representing the floor plan, an icon representing each of the one or more target devices, the one or more target devices including an air conditioner;

When selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to a room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, the area corresponding to the one room a step of switching to an adjustment area that changes the set temperature of the air conditioner;

When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within a range corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an adjustment screen is displayed in an overlapping manner. In the step of displaying a screen, the adjustment screen is a screen for changing a set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room;

When it is detected that the contact on the touch panel display moves in either the adjustment area or the adjustment screen, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the contact Steps to output to the network.

According to this aspect, when the selection of the icon representing the air conditioner is detected within the area corresponding to a certain room in the floor plan, the area corresponding to the certain room is set as the area where the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed. to use.

That is, instead of separately displaying a dedicated screen for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, an area corresponding to a certain room in the floor plan itself is also used as an area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of steps for displaying the operation screen independently of the floor plan as in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 3, and Patent Document 4 above, thereby reducing the number of processing steps in the portable information terminal and the number of user operations. As a result, when the remote controllers of one or more target devices are integrated, the number of processes in the portable information terminal and the number of user operations can be reduced, and the time required to operate a desired target device can be shortened.

In addition, as mentioned above, the area itself corresponding to a certain room in the floor plan is used as an operation screen for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, and the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed. As in Document 2, the display of the floor plan is only used to display the operating state of the lighting equipment, but it can also be used for remote operation of the air conditioner.

On the other hand, in a room with a small size in the layout plan, if the area corresponding to the room is also used as an adjustment area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, since the area corresponding to the room is small, it cannot be ensured. Sufficient adjustment range.

According to this aspect, when the selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among one or more target devices is detected in an area corresponding to another room with a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, the air conditioner installed in the area corresponding to the other room The adjustment screen of the set temperature change of the machine is superimposed on the display screen.

As a result, when selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among one or more target devices is detected in an area corresponding to one room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, the area corresponding to one room is also used as the The adjustment area for the set temperature change of the air conditioner. On the other hand, when selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among one or more target devices is detected in an area corresponding to another room with a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an area corresponding to another room is additionally displayed. Adjustment screen of the set temperature change of the air conditioner that is set.

Therefore, it is possible to effectively use display resources by diverting the display of the already displayed floor plan into an adjustment screen, while suppressing the use of another operation screen as much as possible. Furthermore, since the adjustment screen of the air conditioner is displayed in a room with a small size in the floor plan, it is possible to ensure a sufficient operating area for the user. In addition, in this configuration, since the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed according to the moving direction of the touch on the touch panel display, intuitive operation of the air conditioner can be realized.

In addition, in the above aspect, for example, the adjustment screen may be a screen in which an area corresponding to the certain room is enlarged and displayed.

In addition, in the above manner, for example, the adjustment screen may be superimposed and displayed on the display screen at the center of the display screen.

In addition, in the above other mode, for example, it may further include: when the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even when the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, Also outputting to the network a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the contact including the protruding portion.

In addition, in the above-mentioned other form, for example, when the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion may not be adjusted according to the movement direction of the touch to make the air conditioner move. Set temperature changes.

In addition, in the above other aspect, for example, when it is detected that the moving direction of the touch is an upward direction on the display screen, changing the set temperature direction of the air conditioner to a step of increasing in a higher direction; and a step of lowering the set temperature of the air conditioner in a lower direction when it is detected that the moving direction of the touch is a downward direction of the display screen.

In addition, in the above-mentioned other mode, for example, it may further include: when the movement start point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment area, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the range corresponding to the one room In the case of the region, outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the contact including the excess portion to the network.

For example, an area beyond the area corresponding to the certain room may also be used as the adjustment area. In this case, whether or not an area beyond an area corresponding to a certain room is an adjustment area may be judged by whether or not the contact movement starting point is within the range of the adjustment area.

In addition, in the above-mentioned other form, for example, when the movement of the contact exceeds the area corresponding to the certain room, the excess part may not be moved according to the movement direction of the contact, so that the Changes in the set temperature of the air conditioner.

For example, an area beyond the area equivalent to a certain room may not be the adjustment area.

(implementation mode)

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each drawing, the same code|symbol is used for the same component.

In this embodiment, a home controller that can control one or more devices with one controller will be described.

(the whole frame)

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a home control system to which a home controller according to this embodiment is applied. As shown in FIG. 1 , the home control system includes a home controller 100 , a device 200 (an example of a target device), and a server 300 .

A home controller 100 and one or more devices 200 (for example, device A200 and device B200 ) are arranged at home, and a server 300 is arranged at a cloud center. The home controller 100, the device 200, and the server 300 communicate with each other via a wired and/or wireless network. For example, the device 200 and the home controller 100 are communicably connected via a wireless and/or wired home network, and the home controller 100, device 200, and server 300 are communicably connected via an external network such as the Internet.

In addition, the home controller 100 does not necessarily need to be placed at home, and may be placed outside the home. In this case, the user controls one or more devices 200 from an outgoing destination or the like.

As the home controller 100, portable information terminals such as smart phones and tablet terminals can be used. However, this is an example, and a push-button portable information terminal such as a mobile phone (mobile phone) may be used as the home controller 100 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main device 200 controlled by the home controller 100 . The home controller 100 controls devices 200 such as an air conditioner 201 , lighting devices 202 and 203 , a bathtub 204 , a refrigerator 205 , a washing machine 206 , a toilet 207 , and curtains 208 . In addition, among the devices 200 controlled by the home controller 100 such as the lighting device 202 and the lighting device 203 , there may be multiple devices 200 of the same type.

In addition, the equipment 200 such as the air conditioner 201 shown in FIG. 2 is just an example, and a television, a Blu-ray recorder (Blue-ray recorder), an audio equipment, etc. may be used as the equipment 200 . That is, as the device 200 , any device may be used as long as it is an electrical device having a function capable of communicating with the home controller 100 . In addition, in FIG. 2 , electrical equipment used in general households is shown as the equipment 200 , but this embodiment is not limited thereto, and office equipment used in offices or the like may be employed. Examples of office equipment include printers, personal computers, scanners, copiers, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing configurations of the home controller 100 , the device 200 , and the server 300 . As shown in FIG. 3 , home controller 100 includes display 101 , touch panel control section 102 , display control section 103 , storage section 104 , device management section 105 , device control section 106 , and communication control section 107 .

The display 101 is constituted by, for example, a touch panel display, and displays a user interface for the user to operate the home controller 100 . A user can input various operations to the home controller 100 by touching the display 101 .

When touch panel control section 102 recognizes a user's operation on display 101 , it analyzes the content of the operation, and notifies other components of the operation content. For example, if an object (Object) is displayed at a position on display 101 tapped by the user, touch panel control section 102 determines that the object is selected by the user. As objects, various GUI components that accept user operations, such as buttons, can be used.

Display control section 103 generates a GUI (Graphical User Interface: Graphical User Interface) of home controller 100 and displays it on display 101 . The storage unit 104 stores information necessary for the operation of the home controller 100 such as the device list managed by the device management unit 105 .

The device management unit 105 uses the device list stored in the storage unit 104 to manage the devices 200 to be controlled. Also, when the device 200 is connected to the home network, the device management section 105 detects the device 200 . Furthermore, device management section 105 acquires family information 2700 described later from server 300 , and stores and manages the acquired family information 2700 in storage section 104 . The device control unit 106 issues a control command to the device 200 . The communication control unit 107 controls communication between the home controller 100 and the device 200 , and/or communication between the home controller 100 and the server 300 . In addition, the communication control unit 107 accepts various data transmission requests from other blocks, sends them to the device 200 or the server 300, and receives data sent from the device 200 or the server 300, and provides them to the corresponding blocks.

In addition, the display 101 may be a normal display instead of a touch panel display. In this case, the user may use an external input device such as a mouse (not shown) to move a cursor displayed on display 101 and click a desired object to input an instruction to select an object. That is to say, in this embodiment, a series of operations performed by the user by touching the display 101 can be replaced by operations of moving and clicking a cursor using an external input device such as a mouse.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the device 200 includes a control execution unit 201 , a state management unit 202 , a storage unit 204 , and a communication control unit 207 . The control execution unit 201 receives a control command from the home controller 100 and/or the server 300, and controls the device 200 according to the received control command. The control content of the device 200 controlled by the control execution unit 201 differs depending on the type of the device 200 . For example, if the device 200 is a lighting device, the control execution unit 201 turns on and off the lighting device. In addition, the control execution unit 201 sends the execution result of the control command and/or the state of the device 200 to the home controller 100 and/or the server 300 .

The status management unit 202 manages the status of the device 200 . The management content of the device 200 managed by the status management unit 202 differs depending on the type of the device 200 . For example, if the device 200 is a lighting device, the state management unit 202 manages whether the lighting device is currently in an on state or an off state. The storage unit 204 stores information related to the state of the device 200 managed by the state management unit 202 . The communication control unit 207 controls communication between the device 200 and the home controller 100 and/or communication between the device 200 and the server 300 . In addition, the communication control unit 207 accepts various data transmission requests from other blocks, sends them to the home controller 100 or the server 300, and receives data sent from the home controller 100 or the server 300, and provides them to the corresponding blocks.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the server 300 includes a family information management unit 301 , a device control unit 302 , a storage unit 304 , and a communication control unit 307 . Family information management section 301 manages family information 2700 described later by family or by user account. In addition, family information management section 301 transmits family information 2700 to home controller 100 in response to a request from home controller 100 . Furthermore, family information management section 301 acquires log information related to the use history of device 200 and/or information related to the state of device 200 from device 200 , and stores and manages the acquired information in storage section 304 .

The device control unit 302 sends a control command to the device 200 according to a request from the home controller 100 . Storage unit 304 stores information necessary for the operation of server 300 such as family information 2700 managed by family information management unit 301 and/or information related to the state of device 200 . The communication control unit 307 controls the communication between the server 300 and the home controller 100 and/or the communication between the server 300 and the device 200 similarly to the communication control unit 107 . In addition, the communication control unit 307 accepts transmission requests of various data from other blocks, transmits them to the home controller 100 or the device 200, and receives data transmitted from the home controller 100 or the device 200, and provides them to the corresponding blocks.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an installation form of the home controller 100 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the home controller 100 includes an application program 401 , an OS (Operating System: operating system) 402 , a memory 403 , and other hardware not shown.

The application 401 is application software for making the portable information terminal function as the home controller 100 , and is executed by the processor of the home controller 100 . The home controller 100 may install the application program 401 by reading the application program 401 from a computer-readable recording medium, or may install the application program 401 by downloading it from a network. OS 402 is the basic software of the portable information terminal, and is executed by the processor of the home controller 100 . The memory 403 is constituted by a storage device such as RAM and ROM included in the home controller 100, and stores data groups included in the application program 401. Execution of the application program 401 by the processor of the home controller 100 realizes the functions of the touch panel control unit 102 shown in FIG. . In addition, the memory 403 functions as the storage unit 104 when the processor of the home controller 100 executes the application program 401 .

However, in this embodiment, the home controller 100 may be installed with the application program 401 alone, or may be installed with the application program 401 and the OS 402, or may be installed with the application program 401, the OS 402, and the memory 403, or may be It is installed with an application program 401, an OS 402, a memory 403, and other not-shown hardware. The home controller 100 of this embodiment can be realized in any mounting form. In addition, in this embodiment, a computer is constituted by, for example, a processor and a storage device constituting a portable information terminal. As the processor, any one of CPU, FPGA, and ASIC, or a combination of two or more of them can be used. As the storage device, for example, any one of ROM, RAM, and hard disk, or a combination of two or more of them can be used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a basic screen of the home controller 100 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the basic screen of the home controller 100 displayed on the display 101 includes a floor plan 500 , a device icon 501 , and a device list display change button 503 . Floor plan 500 is a plan view showing the arrangement and shape of one or more rooms constituting each floor of a house in a planar manner. In the case where the home consists of more than one floor, the floor plan 500 may also be prepared by floor. For example, when a house consists of two floors, as shown in FIG.

The device icon 501 is displayed superimposed on the floor plan 500 and is an icon representing the device 200 . When touch panel control section 102 detects that the user taps device icon 501 , display control section 103 causes display 101 to display device control screen 502 described later. Thus, the user can control the device 200 by operating the device control screen 502 .

The device icon 501 is prepared for each device 200 . The display control unit 103 arranges the device icons 501 on the floor plan 500 based on the actual arrangement of the devices 200 in the house. Information on where on the floor plan 500 the device icons 501 are arranged is registered (registered) in an arrangement 3104 of the device list 3100 to be described later. Here, the position on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the actual arrangement position of the device 200 is registered in the arrangement 3104 . Therefore, display control section 103 can arrange device icon 501 at a position on floor plan 500 corresponding to the actual arrangement position of device 200 by arranging device icon 501 at a position registered in arrangement 3104 of device list 3100 .

In the floor plan 500 shown in FIG. 5 , one floor is divided into a plurality of rooms by partition lines representing room partitions. Therefore, the user can know at a glance what kind of device 200 is installed in which room.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 5 , schematic images of furniture are displayed at positions on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the actual arrangement positions of the furniture. In addition, an image showing the movable area of the door is displayed at a position on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the actual arrangement position of the door. In addition, images of stairs are displayed at positions on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the positions where the stairs (steps) are arranged. Therefore, the user can also know at a glance the positions of furniture arranged in each room, and the positions of stairs and doors on floors.

The button marked "to list UI" displayed on the lower right of the basic screen is the device list display change button 503, which is a button for switching the screen display from the basic screen to the device list display screen (see FIG. 24) described later. When touch panel control section 102 detects that the user taps device list display change button 503 , display control section 103 switches the screen display of display 101 from the basic screen to the device list display screen. However, when the non-use of the device list display screen is registered in advance in the home controller 100 , the display control section 103 may not display the device list display change button 503 .

In addition, in the above description, one device icon 501 is associated with one device 200, but this embodiment is not limited thereto, and one device icon 501 may be associated with a plurality of devices 200, so that a plurality of devices 200 share one device icon. 501. For example, if there are two lighting devices in the living room, these two lighting devices may be represented by one device icon 501 .

In this case, when the device icon 501 representing the two lighting devices is tapped by the user, the display control unit 103 causes the display 101 to display the device control screen 502 capable of simultaneously controlling the two lighting devices. Thereby, the user is able to control two lighting devices simultaneously. In a large room such as a living room, there are often multiple lighting devices. When the user turns on or off the lighting equipment in the living room, most of the lighting equipment does not turn on or off a part of the lighting equipment installed in the living room, but turns on or off all the lighting equipment. In this case, if all the lighting devices can be turned on or off at once, the number of operations for the user can be reduced. Therefore, for a plurality of devices 200 that are likely to be operated simultaneously by the user, one device icon 501 may be associated with one device control screen 502 to display one device control screen 502 .

Also, when the device icon 501 represents a plurality of devices 200 , the display control section 103 may display the device icon 501 at a position on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the actual arrangement position of any one of the devices 200 . Alternatively, the display control section 103 may display a device icon 501 representing a plurality of devices 200 at a predetermined position in a room in which a plurality of devices 200 are arranged.

Also, the user moves the device icon 501 to an appropriate position on the floor plan 500 in order to arrange the device icon 501 on the floor plan 500 based on the actual arrangement of the device 200 in the house. The user can move the device icon 501 to an arbitrary position by dragging the device icon 501 while pressing and holding it. This is performed at the timing (time) at which the device icon 501 is added, such as when the home controller 100 is used for the first time or when the device 200 is newly purchased.

Specifically, when the touch panel control section 102 detects the dragging of the device icon 501, the device management section 105 registers the position on the layout diagram 500 of the moved device icon 501 in the arrangement 3104 of the device list 3100 described later. . Thus, the position on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the actual arrangement position of the device 200 is registered in the arrangement 3104 .

The initial display position of the device icon 501 may be set by the system in advance, for example, a predetermined position outside the display area of the floor plan 500 and/or a predetermined position in a predetermined room on the floor plan 500 may be used. In addition, the method of arranging the device icon 501 on the floor plan 500 based on the actual arrangement of the device 200 in the house is not limited to this, and the following method may be used.

As shown in FIG. 7 , FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 , on the layout diagram 500 there is also a mark including configuration information of the device icon 501 . For example, in the example of the floor plan 500 in FIG. 7 , text indicating the type of device 200 indicated by the device icon 501 to be placed is described at the position where the device icon 501 should be placed. In addition, in the example of the floor plan 500 in FIG. 8 , an image showing the type of device 200 indicated by the device icon 501 to be arranged is described at the position where the device icon 501 should be arranged. In addition, in the example of the floor plan 500 in FIG. 9 , at the position where the device icon 501 should be arranged, an image that briefly shows the type of device 200 indicated by the device icon 501 to be arranged is described in the form of a circle and/or a rectangle.

In this way, when the floor plan 500 includes the arrangement information of the device icons 501, the display control section 103 automatically arranges the device icons 501 on the floor plan 500 based on the arrangement information described in the floor plan 500 to generate the basic screen of FIG. 5 . In this case, the user does not need to perform an operation to move the device icon 501 to an appropriate position on the floor plan 500 .

For example, in the example of the floor plan 4401 of the first floor in FIG. The detected position is registered in the configuration 3104 of the device list 3100 .

In addition, in the example of the floor plan 4501 on the first floor in FIG. The arrived location is registered in the configuration 3104 of the device list 3100 . In addition, in the example of the floor plan 4601 of the first floor in FIG. 9 , the display control section 103 detects the position where an image in the shape of a "circle drawn with diagonal lines" is described, and automatically arranges the device icon of the TV at the position. 501, and register the detected location in the configuration 3104 of the device list 3100.

In addition, the display control unit 103 may use commonly used text recognition technology and/or image recognition technology to recognize the configuration information contained in the layout diagram 500 and detect the display position of the configuration information.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method of switching floor displays on the basic screen of the home controller 100 . In FIG. 10 , a case where a house is composed of two floors, a first floor and a second floor, is illustrated. While the floor plan 601 of the first floor is displayed on the basic screen of the home controller 100, the touch panel control section 102 detects that the user taps the stair area 603 on the first floor. Then, display control section 103 switches the floor display on the basic screen from the first floor to the second floor. Similarly, when the floor plan 602 of the second floor is displayed on the basic screen of the home controller 100, the touch panel control section 102 detects that the user taps the stair area 604 on the second floor. Then, display control section 103 switches the floor display on the basic screen from the second floor to the first floor.

Here, when the position tapped (tapped) by the user is within the area surrounded by the four vertices of the stairs registered in the room type 2902 of the room information 2900 (see FIG. 32 ), touch panel control section 102 determines that Just tap the staircase area 603.

Furthermore, switching of the floor display can be performed not only by tapping the stair area 603 but also by swiping the display 101 . While the floor plan 601 of the first floor is displayed on the basic screen of the home controller 100 , the touch panel control section 102 detects that the user has performed a flick operation from right to left on the display 101 . Then, display control section 103 switches the floor display on the basic screen from the first floor to the second floor. Similarly, when the floor plan 602 of the second floor is displayed on the basic screen of the home controller 100 , the touch panel control section 102 detects that the user performs a flick operation from left to right on the display 101 . Then, display control section 103 switches the floor display on the basic screen from the second floor to the first floor. In addition, switching can also be performed by a swipe operation in the up and down direction.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display state of a device control screen 502 of the home controller 100 . In the basic screen shown in FIG. 5 , when touch panel control section 102 detects that the user selects device icon 501 , display control section 103 displays device control screen 502 corresponding to the selected device icon 501 on display 101 . The device control screen 502 is specific to each device 200 and is a control screen for controlling the device 200 or checking the status. For example, in FIG. 11 , an example is shown in which the user selects the device icon 801 of the air conditioner, and controls the temperature setting and/or wind direction of the air conditioner using the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner.

The image of the air conditioner is displayed on the device control screen 502, and the user can quickly recognize that the device control screen 502 is the control screen of the air conditioner, thereby preventing misoperation. An image showing the wind direction is displayed below the image of the air conditioner, and the user can select a desired wind direction by repeatedly tapping the image, for example. The numerical value displayed in the device control screen 502 represents the current set temperature of the air conditioner. In addition, on the device control screen 502 , an upward triangle button is a temperature increase button, and a downward triangle button is a temperature decrease button. Press the temperature rising button once, and the set temperature of the air conditioner will rise to a predetermined temperature (for example, 0.5 degrees); press the temperature drop button once, and the set temperature of the air conditioner will drop by a predetermined temperature (for example, 0.5 degrees).

There are the following methods for arranging the device icons 501 in the display state of the device control screen 502 .

The first method is a method of arranging the device icon 501 outside the display area of the device control screen 502 as shown in FIG. 11 . When the touch panel control unit 102 detects that a certain device icon 501 is tapped by the user, the display control unit 103 arranges all the device icons 501 on the display of the device control screen 502 regardless of whether the device icon 501 is in the display area of the layout diagram 500 area and within the display area of the display 101. In the example of FIG. 11 , device icons 501 are arranged in an ellipse to surround a device control screen 502 . That is, when a certain device icon 501 is selected by the user and the device control screen 502 of the device 200 corresponding to the device icon 501 is displayed, the display control unit 103 retracts all the device icons 501 out of the display area of the device control screen 502 .

This prevents the device icon 501 from being covered by the device control screen 502 . Therefore, when the user wants to display the device control screen 502 of a device 200 different from the device 200 currently displayed on the device control screen 502, it is not necessary to temporarily delete the currently displayed device control screen 502 to find the different device 200. The device icon 501 of the job.

Here, display control section 103 determines the arrangement position of each device icon 501 on the outer periphery of an ellipse having a predetermined shape based on, for example, the size of device control screen 502 , and the device icon 501 may be arranged at the position. As a method of determining the arrangement position, for example, a method of arranging all the device icons 501 to be displayed on the outer periphery of an ellipse at equal intervals may be used, or a method of arranging the device icons 501 such that adjacent device icons 501 are aligned with the ellipse may be adopted. The method in which the angles formed by the centers are equal. Alternatively, the display control unit 103 may also divide the outer circumference of the ellipse into four areas of the device control screen 502, up, down, left, and right, and arrange the device icons 501 such that the number of device icons 501 in each area is equal and arranged at equal intervals. In addition, the device icon 501 arranged at the closest position on the floor plan 500 may be arranged at the determined arrangement position.

In addition, in the above description, the device icons 501 are arranged in an oval shape, but this embodiment is not limited thereto, and the device icons 501 may be arranged in a circular shape. Also in this case, the arrangement position of the device icons 501 may be determined by the same method as in the case of arranging the device icons 501 in an oval shape. In addition, as the arrangement shape of the device icons 501 when the device icons 501 are retracted out of the display area of the device control screen 502 , a polygon such as a triangle, a quadrangle, or a pentagon may be used.

The second method is a method of arranging device icons 501 in one column outside the display area of the device control screen 502 and floor plan 500 and within the display area of the display 101 as shown in FIG. 13 . When touch panel control section 102 detects that a certain device icon 501 is tapped by the user, display control section 103 arranges all device icons 501 in a single column on the left side of the display area of floor plan 500 . That is, the display control unit 103 retracts all the device icons 501 to a blank area outside the display area of the floor plan 500 and within the display area of the display 101 .

In addition, in FIG. 13 , the device icons 501 are arranged on the left side of the floor plan 502 , but this embodiment is not limited thereto, and may also be arranged in a vertical row on the right side of the floor plan 502 , or in a horizontal row. Arranged on the upper side or the lower side of the floor plan 500 .

In addition, when all the device icons 501 cannot be arranged on the left side of the floor plan 500, the display control section 103 may perform the following control: when the device icons 501 arranged in a column on the left side are swiped upward or downward, During the flick operation, the device icon 501 is scrolled upward or downward according to the flick operation, and the non-displayed device icon 501 is displayed on the display 101 .

As a result, the non-displayed device icon 501 is displayed on the display 101 , and the user can select the device icon 501 . In addition, when all the device icons 501 cannot be displayed when the device icons 501 are arranged in a row, the display control unit 103 only needs to perform the following control: when the device icons 501 arranged in a row are moved to the left or right When the swipe operation is performed, the device icon 501 is scrolled leftward or rightward according to the swipe operation, and the non-displayed device icon 501 is displayed on the display 101 .

In addition, in the display state of the device control screen 502 , the display control unit 103 may display the device icon 501 selected by the user in a different display form from the device icon 501 not selected. Thus, the user can easily recognize the selected device icon 501 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 11 , the display control unit 103 may display the selected device icon 801 in a different color from the other device icons 501 not selected. Specifically, the display control section 103 may display the background color of the selected device icon 501 in a color different from the background color of the unselected device icon 501 . However, this is just an example, and the display control unit 103 may make the brightness of the selected device icon 501 brighter than that of the non-selected device icon 501, or make the selected device icon 501 darker than the non-selected device icon. The density of the selected device icon 501 is high, and the selected device icon 501 may be blinked at a fixed cycle.

In addition, in the display state of the device control screen 502 , the device icon 501 selected by the user may be arranged differently from the device icon 501 not selected. Thus, the user can easily recognize the selected device icon 501 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 12 , the display control unit 103 may arrange the selected device icon 901 at the uppermost position on the outer circumference of the ellipse. In addition, the display control section 103 may arrange the selected device icon 501 at a specific position on the outer periphery of the ellipse (for example, the bottommost, rightmost, or leftmost position). In any case, the display control section 103 only needs to arrange the device icon 501 selected by the user at a specific position where the user can easily recognize it visually.

Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 14 , display control section 103 may scroll the arrangement of device icons 501 so that the selected device icon 1101 is arranged in the display area of display 101 . In the example of FIG. 14 , the device icon 501 is scrolled so that the selected device icon 1101 is arranged at the center of the icon column displayed in a column on the left side of the floor plan 500 . Thus, the user can easily recognize the selected device icon 501 . In addition, in FIG. 14 , the device icon 1101 is arranged at the center of the icon row, but it may be placed at a position other than this as long as it is conspicuous. For example, it may be arranged at the top or bottom of the icon row.

In addition, as the arrangement order of the device icons 501 when the device icons 501 are retracted out of the display area of the floor plan 500 , for example, the following order may be adopted: the closer the arrangement position on the floor plan 500 is to the device 200 of the device icon 501 selected by the user. , the closer to the selected device icon 501 is placed. Alternatively, the device icon 501 of the device 200 that is more likely to be used simultaneously with the device 200 selected by the user may be arranged in a position closer to the device icon 501 of the device 200 selected by the user. For example, since the user is likely to use a TV and a Blu-ray recorder at the same time, when the user selects the device icon 501 for the TV, the device icon 501 for the Blu-ray recorder may be displayed next to it. In order to realize this arrangement, a table indicating combinations of devices 200 that are likely to be used at the same time is stored in storage section 104 in advance, and the arrangement of device icons 501 is determined according to the table.

In addition, in any of the above methods for arranging the device icons 501 when the device control screen 502 is displayed, the display control unit 103 may also arrange the device icons 501 in groups according to specific conditions.

For example, in FIG. 15 , the device icons 501 are grouped according to the location where the device 200 is configured. Devices 200 placed in the living room are grouped into a device icon 1201 , devices 200 placed in a dressing room are grouped into a device icon 1202 , and devices 200 placed in a bedroom are grouped into a device icon 1203 . Then, a display order is set for each group, and the grouped device icons 501 are arranged in a single column on the left side of the floor plan 500 according to the display order. The display order of the groups may be, for example, an order in which a group located in a room closer to a room in which the device 200 selected by the user is placed is closer to a room in which the device 200 selected by the user is placed.

In addition, the display control unit 103 may arrange the device icons 501 in groups according to the types of the devices 200 . For example, in FIG. 16 , two device icons 501 of a TV are grouped into a device icon 2301 and placed on the left side of the floor plan 500, and two device icons 501 of an air conditioner are grouped into a device icon 2302 of an air conditioner. On the left side of the floor plan 500 . In this way, the display control section 103 may arrange the device icons 501 of the devices 200 of the same type consecutively, and group the device icons 501 by type.

In addition, display control section 103 may discriminate the type of device 200 based on the contents of device type 3102 registered in device list 3100 (see FIG. 35 ).

In the above description, the device icons 501 of the devices 200 of the same type are grouped into one group, but this embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, the display control section 103 may classify the devices 200 in categories corresponding to the types (category), group the device icons 501 by category and arrange them on the left side of the floor plan 500 .

For example, as shown in the lower left of FIG. 16 , three device icons 501 of a refrigerator, a microwave oven, and a dish washer-dryer are classified into the category of kitchen devices, and these three device icons are grouped and arranged as a device icon 2303 of kitchen devices. On the left side of the floor plan 500 .

In addition, as other categories, there are entertainment equipment and air-conditioning equipment. The category of entertainment equipment includes equipment 200 such as televisions, recorders, record players (players), and home theaters. In addition, the category of air conditioners includes equipment 200 such as air conditioners, air cleaners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and residential air circulation equipment.

For example, the equipment icons 501 of televisions, recorders, air conditioners, and air purifiers are arranged on the layout diagram 500. When the equipment icon 501 of the television is selected by the user, the televisions and televisions classified into the category of entertainment equipment Device icons 501 for recorders are divided into one group and arranged on the left side of the floor plan 500 , and device icons 501 for air conditioners and air cleaners classified into the category of air conditioners are arranged in one group on the left side of the floor plan 500 . left side.

In addition, the display control section 103 may determine the category of the device 200 based on the content of the device type 3102 registered in the device list 3100 . In this case, a classification table for classifying the category of the device 200 according to the contents registered in the device type 3102 is stored in the storage unit 104 in advance, and the display control unit 103 judges the class of the device 200 according to the classification table. can be used.

In addition, as a classification method according to the type of the device 200, various methods other than the above can be adopted. For example, as shown in FIG.

In addition, the method of arranging the device icons 501 in groups based on specific conditions as described above may be applied to a display method in which the device icons 501 are retracted to surround the device control screen 502 as shown in FIG. 11 .

17(A) and (B) are diagrams showing a display method of the floor plan 500 in a state where the device control screen 502 is displayed. As shown in FIGS. 17(A) and (B), there are two methods of displaying the floor plan 500 . The first is a display method in which the entire floor plan 500 is covered with a translucent gray layer (indicated by dots in the figure) as shown in FIG. 17(A).

In this case, the back of the device control screen 502 is grayed out to emphasize the device control screen 502 , so that the user can recognize the device control screen 502 more clearly. In addition, the gray layer is translucent, and the floor plan 500 is not completely in a non-display state, so that the operation of the device control screen 502 with a sense of presence can be realized. The gray layer is image data having a low-brightness color such as gray and having a predetermined transparency set.

In addition, the display control section 103 may determine the display order of the device control screen 502 , the gray layer, and the floor plan 500 in the order that the device control screen 502 is the top layer and the floor plan 500 is the bottom layer, and synthesize these images. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the device control screen 502 from being displayed as being covered with a gray layer.

The second is to set the non-control object area 1302 in the floor plan 500 as a state covered by a translucent gray layer (dot area in the figure) as shown in Figure 17 (B), and set the control object area 1301 to There is no display method for states covered by a semi-transparent gray layer. Thereby, the user can operate the device control screen 502 while recognizing the control target area 1301 , and realize operations with a sense of presence. Here, the control target area 1301 is the area on the floor plan 500 of the room where the device 200 indicated by the device icon 501 selected by the user is arranged, and the non-control target area 1302 is the area on the floor plan 500 other than the room. area. For example, when the control target device is an air conditioner installed in the living room, the control target area 1301 is the area of the living room in the floor plan 500 , and the non-control target area 1302 is an area other than the living room in the floor plan 500 .

For example, it is assumed that the user selects the device icon 501 of the air conditioner whose device ID 3101 is A shown in FIG. 35 . In this case, the display control unit 103 determines the position (X10, Y100, Z1) of the air conditioner based on the content registered in the configuration 3104 of the air conditioner. Next, display control section 103 refers to room information 2900 to determine in which room the specified position (X10, Y100, Z1) is located. Here, the position (X10, Y100, Z1) is located in a region surrounded by vertices whose vertex IDs are F, G, H, I, L, O, and N. Then, display control section 103 determines that the air conditioner is installed in the living room with room ID A. FIG. Then, display control section 103 generates a gray layer in which the area of the living room is the control target area 1301 and the other areas on the floor plan 500 are the non-control target area 1302 .

Next, transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the device control screen 502 will be described using FIG. 18 . On the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 18 , the user selects a device icon 501 of a device 200 (here, an air conditioner) to be controlled, and touch panel control section 102 detects the selection. Then, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 18 , the display control section 103 superimposes and displays the device control screen 502 corresponding to the selected device icon 501 on the floor plan 500 . Thereby, the display state of the basic screen transitions to the display state of the device control screen 502 .

On the other hand, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 18 , in the display state of the device control screen 502, the user taps the device icon 501 of the air conditioner corresponding to the device control screen 502 or outside the display area of the device control screen 502 (for example, , the display area of the floor plan 500 located outside the display area of the device control screen 502 ), the touch panel control unit 102 detects the tap. Then, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 18 , the display control unit 103 erases the device control screen 502 and returns from the display state of the device control screen 502 to the display state of the basic screen. At this time, display control section 103 returns device icon 501 to the original arrangement position on floor plan 500 .

The display status described above is also the same when the floor plan 500 displayed on the basic screen is a certain floor. For example, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 19 , when the floor plan 602 of the second floor is displayed on the basic screen, the user taps the device icon 501 of the device 200 (here, an air conditioner) to be controlled, and the touch panel control unit 102 detects the tap. Then, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 19 , the display control section 103 superimposes and displays the device control screen 502 corresponding to the selected device icon 501 on the floor plan 602 of the second floor.

On the other hand, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 19 , in the display state of the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner, the user taps the device icon 501 of the air conditioner corresponding to the displayed device control screen 502 or the device control screen Outside the display area of 502 (eg, the display area of floor plan 500 located outside the display area of device control screen 502 ), touch panel control unit 102 detects the tap. Then, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 19 , the display control section 103 clears the device control screen 502 and returns from the display state of the device control screen 502 to the display state of the basic screen displaying the floor plan 602 of the second floor.

Next, a method of switching from the display state of a certain device control screen 502 to the display state of another device control screen 502 will be described using FIG. 20 . As shown in the left diagram of FIG. 20, in the display state of the equipment control screen 502 of the air conditioner, the user taps the equipment icon 501 different from the equipment icon 501 of the air conditioner, that is, the equipment icon 501 of the washing machine, and the touch panel control unit 102 detects It's time to tap. Then, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 20 , the display control unit 103 erases the displayed device control screen 502 and superimposes and displays the device control screen 502 corresponding to the device icon 501 of the washing machine on the floor plan 500 . And vice versa.

In this way, when the user continuously selects different device icons 501 , the device control screens 502 are switched one by one, so that the user can continuously control different devices 200 . That is, when another device control screen 502 is displayed while a certain device control screen 502 is being displayed, the user does not need to input an operation to delete a certain device control screen 502, and can switch the device control screen 502 with one touch.

Furthermore, in the display state of the device control screen 502, when the user taps the device icon 501 corresponding to the device control screen 502 being displayed, the display control unit 103 may stay at only eliminating the device control screen 502 without returning to the basic screen . This screen transition is shown in FIG. 21 .

In the left diagram of FIG. 21 , the user selects an air conditioner device icon 501 , so an air conditioner device control screen 502 is displayed, and all device icons 501 are displayed in a column on the left side of the floor plan 500 . In this state, the user taps the device icon 501 of the air conditioner, and the touch panel control section 102 detects the tap. Then, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 21 , the display control section 103 erases only the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner while maintaining the display of device icons 501 in one column. In this case, since the device icon 501 does not move on the floor plan 500 , it is possible to respond to a user's request for displaying only the floor plan 500 .

On the other hand, when the user selects an arbitrary device icon 501 while the device control screen 502 is not displayed, the touch panel control section 102 detects the selection. Then, the display control unit 103 displays the device control screen 502 corresponding to the selected device icon 501 . For example, in the right diagram of FIG. 21, when the user selects the equipment icon 501 of the air conditioner from the equipment icons 501 arranged in a column on the left side of the floor plan 500, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. Device control screen 502 .

Next, a case where the transition from the display state of the basic screen to the display state of the device control screen 502 is dynamically performed will be described using FIG. 22 . As shown in the upper left diagram of FIG. 22 , the user selects an equipment icon 501 such as an air conditioner on the basic screen. Then, the display control section 103 gradually reduces the transparency of the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner in the order of the upper right diagram → the lower right diagram → the lower left diagram of FIG. 22 , and finally makes the transparency 0. At the same time, the display control section 103 moves all the device icons 501 to the outer periphery of the ellipse surrounding the device control screen 502 .

Next, a case where the transition from the display state of the basic screen to the display state of the device control screen 502 is dynamically performed will be described using FIG. 23 . As shown in the upper left diagram of FIG. 23 , the user selects a device icon 501 of a device 200 such as an air conditioner on the basic screen. Then, the display control section 103 gradually reduces the transparency of the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner in the order of the upper right diagram → the lower right diagram → the lower left diagram of FIG. 23 , and finally makes the transparency 0. At the same time, the display control unit 103 moves all the device icons to the left side of the floor plan 500 .

By dynamically performing screen transitions in this way, the user's interest in operating the device control screen 502 can be increased through the screen representation from the selection of the device icon 501 to the display of the device control screen 502 .

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the configuration of a device list display screen. The device list display screen is displayed when the user taps the device list display change button 503 on the basic screen shown in FIG. 5 .

As shown in FIG. 24 , the device list display screen includes a device list 2000 , a device detail icon 2001 , and a basic screen display button 2003 .

When the user taps the device detailed icon 2001 and touch panel control section 102 detects the tap, display control section 103 superimposes and displays device control screen 502 on device list 2000 . Thereby, the user can display the device control screen 502 and operate the device 200 similarly to the case of tapping the device icon 501 .

The device detailed icon 2001 is prepared for each device 200 . The device detailed icon 2001 is different from the device icon 501 in that it represents the on/off state and/or operating state of the device 200 in addition to the image of the device 200 . For example, in the device detailed icon 2001 of the refrigerator displayed on the upper left of FIG. 24 , in addition to the image of the refrigerator, information of "ON" indicating that the refrigerator is currently turned on and "operating/ice" indicating that the refrigerator is currently in a cooling state is displayed. .

In the device list 2000, device detailed icons 2001 are classified and displayed based on predetermined classification criteria. As a predetermined classification criterion, for example, the type of the device 200 , the room in which the device 200 is placed, or the state of use of the device 200 is employed. In FIG. 24 , the case where the type of device 200 is used is illustrated as a classification basis, and the device detailed icon 2001 is classified into three categories of household appliances, air conditioners, and equipment.

In the example in Figure 24, refrigerators, electric toothbrushes, washing machines, and televisions are classified into the category of home appliances, air conditioners and air purifiers are classified into the category of air conditioners, and toilets, lighting equipment, and bathtubs are classified into the category of equipment. In the eyes. In this case, a classification table for determining which category of household appliances, air conditioners, and equipment each device 200 is classified into based on the contents registered in the device type 3102 of the device list 3100 (see FIG. 35 ) is stored in the memory. Unit 104. Then, the display control unit 103 only needs to classify each device into each category according to the classification table.

Returning to FIG. 24 , the button labeled “To Layout UI” displayed on the lower right of the device list 2000 is the basic screen display button 2003 . The basic screen display button 2003 is a button for switching the screen from the device list display screen to the basic screen.

In the above description, it was assumed that the basic screen and the device list display screen can be switched, but instead of the basic screen shown in FIG. 5 , the device list display screen can also be used as the basic screen. In this case, the basic screen display button 2003 may also be omitted.

In addition, in the above description, one device detailed icon 2001 is associated with one device 200, but this embodiment is not limited to this, and one device detailed icon 2001 may be associated with a plurality of devices 200, and a plurality of devices 200 may share one Equipment detailed icons 2001. For example, when there are two lighting devices in the living room, these two lighting devices may be represented by one detailed device icon 2001 .

In this case, when the user taps the device detailed icon 2001 representing the two lighting devices, the display control section 103 causes the display 101 to display the device control screen 502 capable of simultaneously controlling the two lighting devices. In this case, the same effect as in the case where one device icon 501 is shared by a plurality of devices 200 can be obtained. In addition, when a plurality of lighting devices share one device detailed icon 2001 , the device detailed icon 2001 only needs to display the respective ON, OFF states, and/or operating states of the two lighting devices.

In addition, the device detailed icon 2001 may be used instead of the device icon 501 on the basic screen, and the device icon 501 may be used instead of the device detailed icon 2001 on the device list display screen. In addition, the device control screen 502 displayed when the device detailed icon 2001 is selected may be the same as or different from the device control screen 502 displayed when the device icon 501 is selected. For example, since the detailed device icon 2001 contains more information than the device icon 501, the device control screen 502 displayed when the device detailed icon 2001 is selected may contain more information than the device control screen displayed when the device icon 501 is selected. Screen 502 for more buttons and/or states.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing screen transitions between the basic screen and the device list display screen. On the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 25 , when the user selects the device list display change button 503 , the display on the display 101 switches to the device list display screen shown in the right diagram of FIG. 25 . On the other hand, when the user selects the basic screen display button 2003 on the device list display screen shown in the right diagram of FIG. 25 , the display on the display 101 switches to the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 25 .

Specifically, when touch panel control section 102 detects that basic screen display button 2003 is tapped, display control section 103 switches the display screen of display 101 from the device list display screen to the basic screen. On the other hand, when touch panel control section 102 detects that device list display change button 503 is tapped while the basic screen is displayed, display control section 103 switches the display screen of display 101 from the basic screen to the device list display screen.

For example, when the device list display screen is displayed and selected, when the user wants to operate a TV set in front of him, if there is only one TV set at home, the device detailed icon 2001 of the TV set on the device list display screen is only Since one is included, the user can directly select the device detailed icon 2001 of the TV without misoperation, and display the device control screen 502 corresponding to the TV.

On the other hand, when the device list display screen is selected, it is possible to perform operations and status confirmation on each device 200, but since the device list display screen focuses on each device 200, the relationship between the devices 200 and the positions where the devices 200 are arranged Not sure. Therefore, for example, for multiple devices 200 such as air conditioners and lighting devices installed in the same house, it may not be clear which room the air conditioner or lighting device is to be controlled, which may lead to erroneous operations.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a basic screen is provided in addition to the device list display screen, and the basic screen and the device list display screen can be selected.

Thus, when the basic screen is selected, the relationship between the device 200 and the position where the device 200 is placed becomes clear. Therefore, for example, for a plurality of similar devices 200 installed in the same house such as air conditioners or lighting equipment, it is easy to determine which room the air conditioner or lighting equipment is to be controlled, and it is possible to prevent the control of the air conditioner or lighting equipment installed in a room different from the desired one. Misoperation of the air conditioner or lighting equipment in the room.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing screen transition between the display state of the device list display screen and the display state of the device control screen 502 . On the device list display screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 26 , the user selects a device detailed icon 2001 of a device 200 (here, an air conditioner) to be controlled, and touch panel control section 102 detects the selection. Then, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 26 , the display control section 103 superimposes and displays the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner corresponding to the selected device detailed icon 2001 on the device list display screen. As a result, the display state of the device list display screen transitions to the display state of the device control screen 502 .

In addition, in the example of the right figure in FIG. 26 , the display control section 103 hides the detailed device icons 2001 other than the air conditioner selected by the user, and displays only the detailed device icon 2001 of the air conditioner at a position different from the device control screen 502 . . Thus, the user can clearly recognize the device detailed icon 2001 selected by the user.

On the other hand, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 26 , while the device control screen 502 is displayed, the user selects the device detailed icon 2001 of the air conditioner, and the touch panel control section 102 detects the selection. Then, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 26 , the display control section 103 erases the device control screen 502 and returns from the display state of the device control screen 502 to the display state of the device list display screen.

In addition, in the display state of the device control screen 502 shown in the right diagram of FIG. 26 , only one device detailed icon 2001 is displayed, but other device detailed icons 2001 not selected by the user may be displayed similarly to FIG. 13 . In this case, the plurality of detailed device icons 2001 may be displayed in a row at one end of the screen as shown in FIG. 13 , or may be displayed so as to surround the device control screen 502 as shown in FIG. 12 .

According to this configuration, the user can continuously select the device detailed icon 2001 while the device control screen 502 is displayed, and display other device control screens 502 continuously. Thus, when another device control screen 502 is displayed while a certain device control screen 502 is being displayed, the user does not need to input an operation to delete a certain device control screen 502 , and can switch the device control screen 502 with one touch.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing screen transitions between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the device control screen 502 when a plurality of device icons 501 representing similar devices 200 exist on the basic screen. As shown in the left diagram of FIG. 27 , there are two device icons 501 of televisions on the basic screen. Here, the device icon 501 of the TV A is shown as a device icon 2401 , and the device icon 501 of the TV B is shown as a device icon 2402 . At this time, the user can intuitively select the TV to be controlled from the layout diagram 500 for operation.

For example, in the right diagram of FIG. 27 , an example in which the device icon 2401 of the TV A is selected and the device control screen 2403 of the TV A is displayed is shown. In this way, even if there are a plurality of device icons 501 of similar devices 200 , each device icon 501 is arranged at a position on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the actual installation position. Therefore, the user can intuitively select the device icon 501 of the device 200 to be controlled from the display position on the floor plan 500 , and can prevent the device control screen 502 of another device 200 from being erroneously displayed.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing screen transitions when different device icons 501 are successively selected and the device control screens 502 are continuously switched while the device control screen 502 is displayed. In the upper left figure, the device control screen 2511 of the air conditioner is displayed. In this state, when the refrigerator device icon 2501 is selected, a refrigerator device control screen 2512 is displayed on the display 101 as shown in the upper right figure. In addition, in the upper left diagram, when the device icon 2502 of the washing machine is selected, it will be as shown in the lower right diagram. The device control screen 2513 of the washing machine is displayed. In addition, when the device icon 2503 of the air cleaner is selected in the upper left figure, the device control screen 2514 of the air cleaner is displayed as shown in the lower left figure. These screen transitions are also the same for the upper right diagram, the lower right diagram, and the lower left diagram.

In this way, when the user selects the device icon 501 while the device control screen 502 is being displayed, the device control screen 502 corresponding to the device icon 501 can be directly displayed. Therefore, when another device control screen 502 is displayed while a certain device control screen 502 is being displayed, another device control screen can be displayed with one touch without inputting an operation to erase the device control screen 502 being displayed. 502. Thus, the user can smoothly switch the device control screen 502 .

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example in which a device icon 501 of a communication-deficient device 200 that cannot be detected on the network is displayed on the basic screen. The device management unit 105 detects a device 200 that cannot be detected on the network despite being registered in the device list 3100 and/or a device 200 that does not respond to a control command as a communication-poor device 200 . Furthermore, the display control section 103 displays the device icon 501 of the communication-poor device 200 in a different display form from the device icon 501 of the communication-capable device 200 .

For example, in FIG. 29 , the device icon 501 of the device 200 having poor communication is represented as the device icon 2601 . Also, the device icon 2601 is displayed semi-transparently. In this way, the user can quickly recognize that the device 200 represented by the device icon 2601 is currently faulty or cannot be controlled due to a communication fault.

In addition, in FIG. 29 , the device icon 2601 is displayed semi-transparently, but this embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, it may be displayed with a lighter color than the other device icon 501 , or may be displayed with a color that is lighter than the other device icon 501 . or add a comment mark to the device icon 2601.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing the structure of family information 2700 . The family information 2700 is managed by the server 300 for each house, and the home controller 100 controls the display of the basic screen, the device control screen 502 and the like based on the family information 2700 . As shown in FIG. 30 , home information 2700 includes floor plan 500 , vertex information 2800 , room information 2900 , and device list 4700 managed by the server.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the floor plan 500 is prepared for each floor of a house, and is a plan view showing the arrangement and shape of one or more rooms constituting each floor in a planar manner. In the present embodiment, the floor plan 500 is composed of image data representing a plan view in bitmap format, for example.

The vertex information 2800 is information for associating the floor plan 500 with a two-dimensional coordinate axis space so that the home controller 100 can analyze the floor plan 500 . Room information 2900 is information for determining a room area based on vertex information 2800 . In addition, the details of the vertex information 2800, the room information 2900, and the device list 4700 managed by the server are as follows.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the structure of vertex information 2800 . As shown in FIG. 31 , vertex information 2800 includes vertex ID 2801 and vertex coordinates 2802 . Vertex ID 2801 is an identifier for identifying a vertex on layout diagram 500 . Vertex coordinates 2802 are coordinates represented in the format of (X coordinate, Y coordinate, floor number), and represent the position of vertices such as partition lines displayed on floor plan 500 . For example, since the vertex coordinates of the vertex whose vertex ID is B are (X20, Y0, Z1), it indicates the position where the X coordinate is 20 and the Y coordinate is 0 on the first floor (floor 1).

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between vertices registered in vertex information 2800 and floor plan 500 . However, in FIG. 33 , the upper left vertex of the floor plan 500 is set as the origin (both the X coordinate and the Y coordinate are 0). For example, for a vertex whose vertex ID is A, since the vertex coordinates are (X0, Y0, Z1), it is located at the origin. In addition, since the vertex coordinates of the vertex ID B are (X20, Y0, Z1), the vertex is located at the upper right of the bathroom.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing the structure of room information 2900 . As shown in FIG. 32 , room information 2900 includes room ID 2901 , room type 2902 , and room coordinates 2903 . Room ID 2901 is an identifier for identifying a room on floor plan 500 . The room type 2902 indicates the type of room. The room coordinates 2903 are represented by groups of vertex IDs 2801 and determine the area of the room on the floor plan 500 . For example, a room whose room ID is C is a bathroom, and represents an area formed by connecting vertex IDs A, B, G, and F in order on the floor plan 500 . In addition, the room information 2900 includes not only room information but also staircase information. A region with a room ID of D, where the vertex IDs are connected in the order H, I, R, and Q, represents a staircase.

In this way, since the vertex information 2800 and the room information 2900 are provided, the home controller 100 can specify the floor plan 500 by drawing the vertices indicated by the vertex information 2800 on the image data of the floor plan 500 and connecting the vertices indicated by the room coordinates 2903. The area of the room displayed in , the type of room can be identified according to the room type 2902.

In addition, the system administrator displays the floor plan 500 on the monitor of the personal computer, detects vertices based on the displayed floor plan, and inputs the vertex IDs and vertex coordinates of the detected vertices to the personal computer to generate vertex information 2800, namely Can. In addition, the system manager may detect rooms from the floor plan displayed on the monitor, and input the room ID, room type, and room coordinates of the detected rooms into the personal computer to generate room information 2900 . Alternatively, vertex information 2800 and room information 2900 may be generated by importing CAD data as raw data of floor plan 500 .

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the configuration of a device list 4700 managed by the server 300 . As shown in FIG. 34 , device list 4700 includes device ID 4701 , device type 4702 , model 4703 , configuration 4704 , capability information 4705 , and control command transmission destination (destination) 4706 .

The device ID 4701 is an identifier of the device 200 . The device type 4702 indicates the type of the device 200 . The model number 4703 indicates the model number of the device 200 . Arrangement 4704 is a coordinate expressed in the format of (X coordinate, Y coordinate, floor number) similarly to vertex coordinate 2802 , and indicates the arrangement of device icon 501 corresponding to device 200 on floor plan 500 .

Based on this arrangement 4704, the display control section 103 can arrange the device icon 501 on the floor plan 500 and display a basic screen or the like. Capability information 4705 indicates what can be controlled on the device 200 and/or a state that can be obtained from the device 200 . For example, an air conditioner with a device ID of A can control temperature, wind direction, and air volume. The control command transmission destination 4706 indicates the transmission destination of the control command of the control device 200 . For example, for the air conditioner whose device ID is A, since the control command transmission destination 4706 is a device, the control command is directly transmitted from the home controller 100 to the device 200 . On the other hand, for the refrigerator whose device ID is C, since the control command transmission destination 4706 is the server, the control command is transmitted from the home controller 100 to the device 200 via the server 300 . The control command is a command for operating the device 200 or confirming the state of the device 200 .

In addition, the device list 4700 may also register the current state of the device 200 . Thus, when the home controller 100 issues a request to confirm the state of the device 200 , the server 300 can notify the home controller 100 of the state of the device 200 .

Also, as described above, the user moves the device icon 501 to an appropriate position on the floor plan 500 in order to arrange the device icon 501 on the floor plan 500 based on the actual arrangement of the device 200 in the house. Therefore, for the device icons 501 whose arrangement on the floor plan 500 has not been specified by the user, a value indicating no setting such as (0, 0, 0) is set as the value of the arrangement 4704 . The display control section 103 displays the device icon 501 whose configuration 4704 is not set at a position on the display 101 determined in advance.

In addition, the device list 4700 managed by the server may be omitted from the family information 2700 . In this case, the home controller 100 may directly acquire information corresponding to the device type 4702 , model 4703 , and capability information 4705 described in the device list 4700 managed by the server from the device 200 .

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing the configuration of a device list 3100 managed by the home controller 100 . Based on the information of the device list 3100 , the home controller 100 arranges the device icons 501 on the floor plan 500 of the basic screen and controls the devices 200 .

Device list 3100 includes device ID 3101 , device type 3102 , model 3103 , configuration 3104 , capability information 3105 , control command destination 3106 , and IP address 3107 . Device ID 3101 to control command destination 3106 are the same as those of the same name in FIG. 34 .

In device list 3100 , device management section 105 can acquire device type 3102 , model 3103 , configuration 3104 , capability information 3105 , and control command destination 3106 by sending device list 4700 from server 300 . The device management unit 105 acquires the IP address 3107 from the device 200 . However, when the device type 3102 , model 3103 , capability information 3105 , and control command destination 3106 can be directly acquired from the device 200 , the device management section 105 may prioritize these contents.

In addition, the control command transmission destination 3106 may be determined in advance by the home controller system without obtaining from the server 300 or the device 200, or may be automatically determined based on the state of the network connected to the home controller 100, etc. , can also be set by the user.

Next, the flow until the home controller 100 controls the device 200 will be described using the drawings.

FIG. 36 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing in which home controller 100 acquires home information 2700 from server 300 . The home controller 100 acquires the family information 2700 from the server 300 at an arbitrary timing such as when it is used for the first time or when it starts up, and generates the basic screen shown in FIG. 5 based on the acquired family information 2700 .

First, the device management unit 105 of the home controller 100 transmits a home information request to the server 300 (S3201). Here, the family information request includes at least a home controller ID indicating a user using the home controller 100 or a house. Having received the family information request, the family information management unit 301 of the server 300 retrieves the family information 2700 corresponding to the home controller ID from the storage unit 304 (S3202), and transmits it to the home controller 100 (S3203). The device management unit 105 of the home controller 100 stores the family information 2700 received from the server 300 in the storage unit 104, and the display control unit 103 generates a basic screen based on the family information 2700 and displays it on the display 101 (S3204).

Next, the flow of processing for the home controller 100 to detect the devices 200 on the network after the home controller 100 is connected to the network will be described using FIG. 37 .

In FIG. 37 , a case where the device A200 with the device ID A and the device B200 with the device ID B shown in FIG. 31 are connected to the network will be described.

When the home controller 100 is used for the first time or when the power is turned on, if the home controller 100 is connected to the network (S3301), the device management unit 105 of the home controller 100 broadcasts a device search request to all devices 200 on the network (S3302) . The device A200 having received the device retrieval request returns a device retrieval response to the home controller 100 (S3303). The home controller 100 having received the device search response acquires device information from the device A200 (S3304), and updates the display screen (S3305).

Likewise, the device B200 that has received the device retrieval request returns a device retrieval response to the home controller 100 (S3306). The home controller 100 having received the device search response acquires device information from the device B200 (S3307), and updates the display screen (S3308). Here, the device information refers to information indicating the device type, model, capability information, and the like of the device 200 . The device management section 105 of the home controller 100 generates a device list 3100 (see FIG. 35 ) based on the device information.

Next, the flow of processing for the home controller 100 to detect the device 200 on the network when the device 200 is connected to the network will be described using FIG. 38 . When the device A200 is connected to the network when it is used for the first time or when the power is turned on (S3401), it broadcasts a network connection notification to all the home controllers 100 on the network (S3402). The device management section 105 of the home controller 100 having received the network connection notification acquires the device information from the device A200 (S3403), and the display control section 103 updates the display screen (S3404). The processing at the time of network connection of the device B200 is also the same as that of the device A200 (S3405 to S3408).

Here, the update (S3305, S3308, S3404, S3408) of the display screen of the home controller 100 in FIGS. 37 and 38 will be described. The home controller 100 hides the device icon 501 corresponding to the device 200 until it receives a device search response or a network connection notification from the device 200 , that is, until the device 200 is detected on the network. Then, the home controller 100 that has received the device search response displays the device icon 501 of the corresponding device 200 on the screen. Alternatively, until the home controller 100 detects the device 200 on the network, the device icon 501 of the undetected device 200 is displayed in a lighter color (for example, translucent) than the device icon 501 of the detected device 200 . ). Then, the home controller 100 that has received the device search response changes the color of the device icon 501 of the undetected device 200 to the same color as the color of the device icon 501 of the detected device 200 .

39A and 39B are flowcharts showing the flow of processing in which the home controller 100 controls the device 200 in one embodiment of the present invention.

First, the touch panel control section 102 detects that the user has selected the device icon 501 representing a certain device 200 on the basic screen (S3501). Next, the display control section 103 retracts all the device icons 501 out of the display area of the device control screen 502 (S3502). In this case, the device icon 501 retreats as shown in FIGS. 11 and 13 .

Next, the display control section 103 adjusts the display position of the retracted device icon 501 (S3503). For example, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 14 , the selected device icon 501 is adjusted to be displayed at a specific position.

Next, the display control section 103 judges whether the device control screen 502 corresponding to the device icon 501 selected by the user is a dedicated screen or a floor plan (S3504).

Here, the device control screen 502 of a dedicated screen refers to a device control screen 502 that is superimposed on the floor plan as shown in FIG. 13 and is prepared separately from the floor plan. On the other hand, the device control screen 502 of the floor plan means that the floor plan itself becomes the device control screen 502 .

For example, in a lighting device, if the user directly taps an area of a room on a floor plan where the lighting device is arranged to turn on or off the lighting device or adjust brightness, operations with a sense of presence can be realized. In addition, when the user wants to operate a plurality of lighting devices installed in the living room at the same time, if the device control screen 502 dedicated to each lighting device is displayed on the floor plan at the same time, the entire screen will be controlled by the device dedicated to the lighting device. The screen 502 is covered and the visibility is reduced.

Therefore, in the following description, the device control screen 502 of the lighting device will be a device control screen that becomes a floor plan. Specifically, on the basic screen, when the user selects the device icon 501 of the lighting device installed in a certain room, all the device icons 501 are withdrawn from the display area of the floor plan, and the floor plan becomes the one that can accept the lighting device of the room. The status of the operation. Furthermore, if the user taps the region of the room on the floor plan where the selected lighting device is installed, it is possible to simultaneously operate one or more lighting devices in the room.

For example, in a state where lighting devices in a room are turned off, when the user taps an area of the room, more than one lighting device in the room is turned on at the same time, and then, when the user taps the area, one or more lighting devices are turned off simultaneously.

In S3504, when the device control screen 502 is a floor plan, if the area of the room where the device icon 501 is placed is less than a certain size (YES in S3506), the display control section 103 enlarges and displays the room area. The device-specific device control screen 502 is superimposed and displayed on the floor plan (S3507). Here, for example, an enlarged floor plan obtained by dividing the part of the room from the floor plan of the whole floor is superimposed and displayed on the floor plan of the whole floor.

On the other hand, if the area of the room where the device icon 501 is arranged is larger than a certain size (NO in S3506), the display control unit 103 displays the floor plan as the device control screen 502 (S3508).

Information on whether to adopt a dedicated screen or a layout drawing as the device control screen 502 of each device 200 is stored in the storage unit 104 in advance. Therefore, it is only necessary for the display control section 103 to refer to this information to determine whether the device control screen 502 is a dedicated screen or a floor plan.

In addition, the display control section 103 specifies the vertex of the corresponding room based on the room information 2900, specifies the coordinates of the specified vertex based on the vertex information 2800, obtains the area surrounded by the coordinates of the specified vertex, and calculates the corresponding The size of the room is fine. Then, if the size of the room is larger than a predetermined fixed size, it may be determined as "No" in S3506, and if it is smaller than a predetermined size, it may be determined as "Yes" in S3506.

On the other hand, in S3504, when the device control screen 502 is a dedicated screen, the display control section 103 superimposes and displays the dedicated screen on the floor plan (S3505).

In S3509 , touch panel control unit 102 detects that a contact object (here, the user's finger) has come into contact with display 101 .

Next, touch panel control section 102 determines whether or not the contact object is device icon 501 (S3510).

When it is determined that the device icon 501 has been touched (YES in S3510), touch panel control section 102 determines whether the contact object has touched the same device icon 501 as the device icon 501 selected in S3501 (S3511). When it is determined that the contact object has touched the same device icon 501 as the device icon 501 selected in S3501 (YES in S3511), the display control section 103 hides the device control screen 502 being displayed and displays the basic screen. (S3514).

In addition, when touch panel control section 102 determines that device icon 501 is not touched (NO in S3510), touch panel control section 102 further determines whether the touch object is device control screen 502 (S3512). When it is determined that the contact object is not the device control screen 502 (NO in S3512), the display control section 103 hides the device control screen 502 being displayed and displays the basic screen (S3514).

On the other hand, when touch panel control section 102 determines that a contact object has touched a button or the like in device control screen 502 (YES in S3512), the process proceeds to S3513, and a device-specific control flow is executed (S3513).

Next, the device-specific control flow executed in S3513 will be described in detail using FIG. 40 . First, the device control section 106 determines device-specific control content based on the contact content of the contact object (S3601). Next, the device control section 106 generates a control command corresponding to the control content (S3602). As shown in FIG. 11 , it is assumed that the user taps a button for raising the temperature while the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner is displayed, and the touch panel control section 102 detects this. Then, the device control unit 106 generates a control command to increase the temperature of the air conditioner. Next, the device control section 106 advances the process to S3603, and executes the control command transmission flow.

Next, the flow of control command transmission executed in S3603 will be described in detail using FIG. 41 . First, the device control unit 106 determines whether the home controller 100 is connected to the home network (S3701), and if it is connected to the home network ("Yes" in S3701), it sends the device list 3100 according to the control command of the destination 3106. Contents, the destination of the control command is checked (S3702). Here, the so-called home network refers to the network in the user's house. Therefore, if the user operates the home controller 100 from a destination outside, the determination is "No" in S3701, and if the user operates the home controller 100 at home, the determination is "YES" in S3701.

If the transmission destination of the control command is "device" in S3702, the device control unit 106 transmits the control command to the corresponding device 200 (S3703). On the other hand, if the transmission destination of the control command is "server" in S3702, the device control unit 106 transmits the control command to the server 300 (S3704).

For example, in the device list 3100, the control command transmission destination 3106 of the air conditioner is "device", so the device control unit 106 transmits the control command to the air conditioner. On the other hand, in the device list 3100 , the control command transmission destination 3106 of the refrigerator is “server”, so the device control unit 106 transmits the control command to the server 300 .

In addition, when it is judged in S3701 that the home controller 100 is not connected to the home network (NO in S3701), the process of S3704 is also performed.

In S3705 , the device control unit 106 receives the control result from the device 200 . Next, when the transmission of the control command to all the devices 200 operating at the same time has been completed (YES in S3706), the device control section 106 advances the process to S3707. On the other hand, when the transmission of the control command to all devices 200 operating at the same time has not yet ended (NO in S3706), device control section 106 returns the process to S3702, and repeats the processes after S3702.

For example, in the case where two lighting devices are set in the same room and are preset to operate the two lighting devices simultaneously, the device control unit 106 sends control commands to the two lighting devices respectively. Also, for a device 200 that does not operate at the same time as other devices 200 , no determination is made in S3706 as "No".

Next, the display control section 103 updates the screen displayed on the display 101 (S3707). For example, if the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed, the device control screen 502 is updated so that the temperature display, for example, flashes until the set temperature of the air conditioner is changed according to the control command. When the set temperature of the machine is reached, the blinking of the temperature display ends. In addition, in the example of the lighting device, when the lighting device is turned on, the screen is updated so that the area on the floor plan of the room where the lighting device is installed is brighter than other areas.

Next, the flow of processing in which the home controller 100 directly controls the device 200 will be described using FIG. 42 . First, the touch panel control section 102 of the home controller 100 detects a user's operation on the device control screen 502 (S3801). Next, the device control section 106 of the home controller 100 generates a control command corresponding to the user's operation and transmits it to the device 200 (S3802).

The device 200 having received the control command executes the control command (S3803), and transmits the control result to the home controller 100 (S3804). The display control unit 103 of the home controller 100 having received the control result updates the display screen according to the control result (S3805).

Next, the flow of processing in which the home controller 100 controls the device 200 via the server 300 will be described using FIG. 43 . First, the touch panel control section 102 of the home controller 100 detects a user's operation on the device control screen 502 (S3901). Next, the device control section 106 of the home controller 100 generates a control command corresponding to the user's operation and transmits it to the server 300 (S3902).

The server 300 having received the control command sends the control command to the device 200 (S3903). The device 200 having received the control command executes the control command (S3904), and transmits the control result to the server 300 (S3905). The server 300 having received the control result transmits the control result to the home controller 100 (S3906). The display control section 103 of the home controller 100 having received the control result updates the display screen according to the control result (S3907).

Next, the flow of processing in which the home controller 100 checks the device status of the device 200 via the server 300 will be described using FIG. 44 . First, the device 200 sends the current device state to the server 300 (S4001). Here, the device 200 transmits the device status to the server 300 when the power is turned on, when the power is turned off, when the device status changes, or periodically, so that the server 300 stores the device status. In addition, the process of S4001 may be performed asynchronously with the process of S4002-S4006.

Next, the touch panel control section 102 of the home controller 100 detects the user's operation on the device control screen 502 (S4002). Next, the device control section 106 of the home controller 100 generates a control command corresponding to the user's operation and transmits it to the server 300 (S4003). Here, a control command for confirming the device state of the device 200 is generated.

The server 300 having received the control command retrieves the current device status of the device 200 (S4004), and sends the device status of the device 200 to the home controller 100 as a control result (S4005). The display control unit 103 of the home controller 100 having received the control result updates the display screen according to the control result (S4006). For example, if the device control screen 502 of the device 200 is displayed on the display 101, the content of the device control screen 502 of the device 200 is updated according to the control result.

Next, the flow of processing in which the home controller 100 directly controls the devices 200 when the home controller 100 controls a plurality of devices 200 with one operation will be described using FIG. 45 . Here, the case where the home controller 100 controls the device A200 and the device B200 will be described as an example.

First, the touch panel control section 102 of the home controller 100 detects a user's operation on the device control screen 502 (S4101). Next, the device control section 106 of the home controller 100 generates a control command corresponding to the user's operation and transmits it to the device A200 (S4102).

The device A200 having received the control command executes the control command (S4103), and transmits the control result to the home controller 100 (S4104).

Next, the device control unit 106 of the home controller 100 transmits the same control command as that transmitted to the device A200 to the device B200 (S4105). The device B200 having received the control command executes the control command (S4106), and transmits the control result to the home controller 100 (S4107).

The display control unit 103 of the home controller 100 having received the control result updates the display screen according to the control result (S4108). In this case, for example, if the device control screen 502 of the device A200, B200 is displayed on the display 101, the content of the device control screen 502 of the device A200, B200 is updated according to the control result.

Next, when the home controller 100 controls a plurality of devices 200 with one operation, the flow of processing in which the home controller 100 controls the devices 200 via the server 300 will be described using FIG. 46 . Here, the case where the home controller 100 controls the device A200 and the device B200 will be described as an example. In addition, it is assumed that the devices A200 and B200 are represented by one device icon 501 and controlled through one device control screen 502 .

First, the touch panel control unit 102 of the home controller 100 detects a user's operation on the device control screen 502 (S4201).

Next, the device control section 106 of the home controller 100 generates a control command for the device A200 according to the user's operation and transmits it to the server 300 (S4202).

The server 300 having received the control command of the device A200 transmits the control command to the device A200 (S4203). The device A200 having received the control command executes the control command (S4204), and transmits the control result to the server 300 (S4205). The server 300 having received the control result transmits the control result to the home controller 100 (S4206).

Similarly, the device control section 106 of the home controller 100 generates a control command for the device B200 according to the user's operation and transmits it to the server 300 (S4207).

The server 300 having received the control command transmits the control command to the device B200 (S4208). The device B200 having received the control command executes the control command (S4209), and transmits the control result to the server 300 (S4210). The server 300 having received the control result transmits the control result to the home controller 100 (S4211).

Then, the display control unit 103 of the home controller 100 updates the display screen according to the control result (S4212).

Next, when the home controller 100 controls a plurality of devices 200 with one operation, the flow of processing in which the home controller 100 controls the devices 200 via the server 300 will be described using FIG. 47 . Here, the case where the home controller 100 controls the device A200 and the device B200 will be described as an example. In addition, it is assumed that the devices A200 and B200 are represented by one device icon 501 and controlled through one device control screen 502 .

First, the touch panel control unit 102 of the home controller 100 detects a user's operation on the device control screen 502 (S4301).

Next, the device control section 106 of the home controller 100 generates a control command for the device A200 and the device B200 according to the user's operation, and sends it to the server 300 (S4302).

The server 300 having received the control command transmits the control command to the device A200 (S4303). The device A200 having received the control command executes the control command (S4304), and transmits the control result to the server 300 (S4305).

Also, the server 300 sends a control command to the device B200 (S4306). The device B200 having received the control command executes the control command (S4307), and transmits the control result to the server 300 (S4308). The server 300 having received the control result of the device A200 and the device B200 transmits the control result to the home controller 100 (S4309).

Then, the display control unit 103 of the home controller 100 updates the display screen according to the control result (S4310).

Next, the flow of processing when the device icon 501 is moved in the home controller 100 will be described using FIG. 48 . Here, a case where a user owns two home controllers A100 and A200 will be described.

When the touch panel control section 102 of the home controller A100 detects the movement of the device icon 501 (S4801), the display control section 103 updates the display screen (S4802). Here, the display control section 103 moves and displays the device icon 501 according to the drag amount of the device icon 501 by the user.

The device management section 105 of the home controller A100 transmits to the server 300 an update notification of the device list including the coordinates on the floor plan 500 after dragging (S4803). Here, the device management unit 105 of the home controller A100 updates the content of the configuration 3104 of the corresponding device 200 in the device list 3100 managed by itself using the dragged coordinates.

The server 300 having received the device list update notification updates the device list 4700 (S4804). In this case, the family information management unit 301 of the server 300 updates the content of the configuration 4704 of the corresponding device 200 in the device list 4700 using the coordinates included in the device list update notification.

Next, the server 300 transmits a device list update notification to the home controller B100 (S4805). The home controller B100 that has received the device list update notification updates the display screen (S4806). Here, the device management unit 105 of the home controller B100 updates the content of the configuration 3104 of the corresponding device 200 in the device list 3100 managed by itself using the coordinates included in the device list update notification.

As described above, the device icons 501 are arranged at appropriate positions on the floor plan 500 . Since home controller A100 notifies home controller B100 via server 300 of the update of the arrangement position of device icon 501 , the updated arrangement position of device icon 501 is shared between home controllers A100 , B100 and server 300 . Therefore, it is possible to avoid a failure that the arrangement positions of the device icons 501 are different between the home controller A100 and the home controller B100.

Next, an example of processing for updating the device list by the home controller 100 and the server 300 will be described using FIG. 49 . The device 200 transmits a device state indicating its current state to the server 300 (S4901). Here, the device 200 may send the device status periodically, or may send the device status when the status changes. The server 300 updates the device list 4700 according to the received content of the device state (S4902). Here, when the information of the device 200 does not exist in the device list 4700, the server 300 adds the information of the device 200 as a new device. Then, the server 300 transmits a device list update notification to the home controller 100 (S4903). The device management unit 105 of the home controller 100 updates the device list 3100 according to the received content of the device list update notification (S4904). Here, when the information of the device 200 does not exist in the device list 3100, the device management section 105 adds the information of the device 200 as a new device. Then, the display control section 103 of the home controller 100 updates the display screen (S4905).

In this way, since the device 200 notifies the server 300 of the change of state, the server 300 can monitor the change of the state of the device 200 . In addition, since the server 300 to which the device status is transmitted from the device 200 notifies the home controller 100 of the status change, the home controller 100 can recognize the current status of the device 200 . In addition, in the case where a new device 200 is connected to the home network, the server 300 and the home controller 100 can add the new device. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a deviation between the actual state of the device 200 and the state of the device 200 recognized by the home controller 100 .

Next, another example of the process of updating the device list by the home controller 100 and the server 300 will be described using FIG. 50 . The device 200 transmits the device status to the home controller 100 (S5001). Here, the device 200 may send the device status periodically, or may send the device status when the status changes.

The device management unit 105 of the home controller 100 updates the device list 3100 according to the received content of the device status (S5002). Here, when the information of the device 200 does not exist in the device list 3100, the device management section 105 adds the information of the device 200 as a new device. Then, the display control unit 103 updates the display screen (S5003). Then, the device management unit 105 of the home controller 100 transmits a device list update notification to the server 300 (S5004). The server 300 updates the device list 4700 according to the received device list update notification (S5005). Here, when the information of the device 200 does not exist in the device list 4700, the server 300 adds the information of the device 200 as a new device.

Next, still another example of the process of updating the device list by the home controller 100 and the server 300 will be described using FIG. 51 . In FIG. 51 , a case where the user owns two home controllers 100 , the home controller 100 inside the house and the home controller 100 outside the house, will be described as an example. Here, the home controller 100 outside the home is the home controller 100 that the user takes to the destination, and the home controller 100 inside the home is the home controller 100 that the user puts in the house.

The device 200 transmits the device status to the home controller 100 in the house (S5101). The home controller 100 in the house updates the device list 3100 based on the received content of the device status (S5102). Here, when the information of the device 200 does not exist in the device list 3100, the device management section 105 adds the information of the device 200 as a new device. Then the display screen is updated (S5103). Then, the home controller 100 in the house transmits a device list update notification to the server 300 (S5104).

The server 300 updates the device list 4700 according to the content of the received device list update notification (S5105). Here, when the information of the device 200 does not exist in the device list 4700, the server 300 adds the information of the device 200 as a new device. Then, the server 300 transmits a device list update notification to the home controller 100 outside the house (S5106). The outdoor home controller 100 updates the device list 3100 based on the received device list update notification (S5107). Here, when the information of the device 200 does not exist in the device list 3100, the device management section 105 of the remote home controller 100 adds the information of the device 200 as a new device. Then the display screen is updated (S5108).

According to this example, even when one home controller 100 is located outside the home and the other home controller 100 is located inside the home, it is possible to prevent the states of the devices 200 recognized by the two home controllers 100 from being different from each other.

In addition, the programs and processing flows described above are examples, and as long as the intended processing can be realized, the order of the steps may be changed, and some steps may be omitted. For example, sending control commands to device A200 and device B200 may also be implemented asynchronously.

In the above description, as the floor plan 500, a plan view showing the positions and shapes of the rooms constituting each floor in a planar manner was used as the floor plan, but the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and may be used to schematically show what kind of room is on each floor. There are several pictures of the room as a layout picture.

Hereinafter, another form of the layout diagram will be specifically described. FIG. 52 is a diagram showing a floor plan 5200 of another mode. In floor plan 5200 , one room constituting one floor is represented by one square block, and each room is arranged in a matrix on one floor. In addition, the size of each block is the same, and the name of the room is described in each block.

In this floor plan 5200, the names and numbers of the rooms constituting each floor are shown, but the relative sizes of the rooms and the positions in the floors are not shown. In this embodiment, such a diagram is also handled as the floor plan 5200 . That is, in the present embodiment, as long as it shows at least what kind of rooms are included in each floor, it is handled as a floor plan.

For example, in the floor plan 5201 of the first floor, each room including the living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, powder room, toilet, stairs, and entrance can be seen. In addition, in the floor plan 5202 of the second floor, each room including the master bedroom, bedroom 1, bedroom 1, children's room, and stairs can be seen.

In addition, in the floor plan 5200 , the user can change the position of the room on the floor plan 5200 by dragging and moving an arbitrary room. In addition, there are many devices 200 arranged in the room. In the layout diagram 5200, if the default room size cannot display all the device icons 501 in the room, the display control unit 103 can also enlarge the size of the room so that all devices The icon 501 can be received in the room.

FIG. 53 is a diagram showing the configuration of a basic screen using a floor plan 5200 . A floor plan 5200 is displayed on the basic screen. In addition, the device icon 501 of the device 200 actually placed is displayed in each room.

For example, in the living room, since the device icons 501 of the television and the lighting are displayed, it can be known that the television and the lighting are installed.

The device list display change button 503 is a button for switching the screen display from the basic screen to the above-mentioned device list display screen (see FIG. 24 ).

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a display state of the device control screen 502 when the floor plan 5200 shown in FIG. 52 is used. In the basic screen shown in FIG. 53 , when touch panel control section 102 detects that the user has selected device icon 501 , display control section 103 displays device control screen 502 corresponding to the selected device icon 501 on display 101 . In FIG. 54 , since the device icon 501 of the air conditioner is selected, the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner is displayed superimposed on the floor plan 5200 .

Also, when displaying the device control screen 502 , the display control section 103 arranges the device icon 501 displayed on the floor plan 5200 outside the display area of the device control screen 502 . In the example of FIG. 54 , all device icons 501 are arranged in a single column on the left side of the floor plan 5200 .

In addition, when the device icons 501 are arranged in a column on the left side of the floor plan 5200, the display control unit 103 may also group the device icons 501 according to specific conditions. For example, the device icons 501 may be grouped by rooms, may be grouped by types of devices 200 , or may be grouped by categories based on types.

In the example in FIG. 54 , the device icons 501 are arranged on the left side of the floor plan 5200 , but they may also be arranged in a vertical row on the right side of the floor plan 5200 , or may be arranged in a horizontal row on the upper side of the floor plan 5200 or underside.

In addition, when all the device icons 501 cannot be displayed on the left side of the floor plan 5200, when the device icons 501 arranged in a row on the left side are swiped up or down, the display control section 103 The device icon 501 may be scrolled upward or downward by the motion operation, and the non-displayed device icon 501 may be displayed on the display 101 .

Also, when arranging device icons 501 in a single column on the left side of floor plan 5200 , display control section 103 may display device icons 501 selected by the user in a different display format from device icons 501 not selected. For example, the selected device icon 501 may be displayed in a color different from that of the unselected device icon 501, or may be displayed brighter than the unselected device icon 501, or may be displayed in a darker color than the unselected device icon 501. Concentration to display, in addition, it can flash according to a certain period.

In addition, the display control section 103 may scroll the arrangement of the device icons 501 so that the device icon 501 selected by the user is located at a conspicuous position (for example, the top, the center, or the bottom) of the icon row.

In addition, when the device control screen 502 is displayed, the display control section 103 may arrange all the device icons 501 on the outer periphery of the ellipse as shown in FIG. 12 .

Next, transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the device control screen 502 will be described using FIG. 55 .

In the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 55 , the user selects a device icon 501 of a device 200 (here, an air conditioner) to be controlled, and touch panel control section 102 detects the selection. Then, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 55 , the display control section 103 superimposes and displays the device control screen 502 corresponding to the selected device icon 501 on the floor plan 5200 . Thereby, the display state of the basic screen transitions to the display state of the device control screen 502 .

On the other hand, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 55, in the display state of the device control screen 502, the user selects the device icon 501 of the air conditioner corresponding to the device control screen 502, or outside the display area of the device control screen 502 (such as , the display area of the floor plan 5200 located outside the display area of the device control screen 502 ), the touch panel control unit 102 detects the selection. Then, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 55 , the display control section 103 erases the device control screen 502 and returns from the display state of the device control screen 502 to the display state of the basic screen.

FIG. 56 is a diagram showing the configuration of a floor plan 5600 when the size of each block is changed according to the actual room size in the floor plan 5200 shown in FIG. 52 .

The floor plan 5601 of the first floor is shown in the left diagram of FIG. 56 , and the floor plan 5602 of the second floor is shown in the right diagram of FIG. 56 .

In the floor plan 5601 of the first floor, the living room is the largest in size of each room, followed by the kitchen, followed by the bathroom and the stairs. Therefore, the dimensions of each room are displayed in that order. Also, in the floor plan 5602 on the second floor, each room is displayed based on the actual size of the room. In this case, information indicating the actual size of the room may be registered in room information 6800 in advance, and display control section 103 may determine the size of each room based on the information.

FIG. 57 is a diagram showing the configuration of a basic screen using the floor plan 5600 shown in FIG. 56 . In floor plan 5600, each room is displayed in a size corresponding to the actual size. In addition, a device icon 501 of the device 200 actually placed is displayed in each room.

In this way, when floor plan 5600 adopts a method in which each room is displayed in a size corresponding to the actual room size, when all rooms are displayed on display 101, each room may be displayed smaller. , The user's operation will become difficult. Therefore, in FIG. 57, a room display button 5603 described as "display another room" is provided.

When the user selects the room display button and touch panel control section 102 detects the selection, display control section 103 switches the screen display to display floor plan 5600 of the remaining rooms.

In the example of FIG. 57 , the floor plan 5600 is divided into a floor plan 5601 for the first floor and a floor plan 5602 for the second floor. Therefore, when room display button 5603 is selected, display control section 103 switches the display on display 101 to floor plan 5602 of the second floor. In this case, the room display button 5603 is also provided on the floor plan 5602 of the second floor, so when the room display button 5603 is selected, the display control section 103 switches the display on the display 101 to the layout of the first floor. Figure 5601.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 57, although the floor plan is divided into each floor, this embodiment is not limited to this. For example, when the floor plan 5601 of the first floor cannot be simultaneously displayed on the display 101 , the display control section 103 may divide and display the floor plan 5601 of the first floor on the display 101 . In this case, when the room display button 5603 is selected, the floor plan 5601 of the part of the first floor that is not displayed can be displayed.

In addition, when the floor plan 5601 of the first floor and the floor plan 5602 of the second floor can be simultaneously displayed on the display 101, the display control section 103 simultaneously displays the floor plan 5601 of the first floor and the floor plan 5602 of the second floor. It only needs to be displayed on the display 101 . In this case, the room display button 5603 may be omitted from the floor plan 5600 .

In addition, in the floor plan 5600, when the stairs are tapped, the display control section 103 may switch the floor plan 5601 of the first floor and the floor plan 5602 of the second floor.

FIG. 58 is a diagram showing a display state of the device control screen 502 when the floor plan 5600 shown in FIG. 56 is adopted as the floor plan. In FIG. 58 , the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner is displayed similarly to FIG. 54 . The other contents are the same as those in FIG. 54 , and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 59 is a diagram showing a floor plan 5900 of still another mode in one embodiment of the present invention. In the floor plan 5900 of FIG. 59 , each room is represented by blocks of the same size, which is the same as the floor plan 5200 , but the layout of the rooms is different. Specifically, in floor plan 5900 , floor numbers are displayed vertically, and rooms constituting the same floor are arranged in a horizontal row. In the example of FIG. 59, since the home is composed of three floors, the first floor to the third floor, the rooms constituting the third floor are arranged in the first row, and the rooms constituting the second floor are arranged in the second row. Rooms constituting the first floor are arranged in the third row. In addition, floor numbers are shown in the form of 1F, 2F, and 3F at the left end of each row. In the floor plan 5900, it is clear at a glance which floor each room is located on.

In addition, in the floor plan 5900, the size of each room may be changed according to the actual size of the room. Also, when all the rooms cannot be displayed on the floor plan 5900 within the display area of the display 101 , the floor plan 5900 can be scrolled in the horizontal direction so that desired rooms can be displayed on the display 101 .

For example, if there is another room on the second floor, when the touch panel control section 102 detects that the user has swipe from left to right, the display control section 103 will display the display control section 103 to make the room on the second floor according to the amount of the swipe operation. or the rooms that make up the first to third floors can be scrolled from left to right.

FIG. 60 is a diagram showing the configuration of a basic screen using the floor plan 5900 shown in FIG. 59 . A floor plan 5900 is displayed on the basic screen. In addition, the device icon 501 of the device 200 actually placed is displayed in each room. The device list display change button 503 is a button for switching the screen display from the basic screen to the above-mentioned device list display screen (see FIG. 24 ).

FIG. 61 is a diagram showing a display state of the device control screen 502 when the floor plan 5900 shown in FIG. 59 is used. In the basic screen shown in FIG. 60 , when touch panel control section 102 detects that the user has selected device icon 501 , display control section 103 displays device control screen 502 corresponding to the selected device icon 501 on display 101 . In FIG. 61 , since the device icon 501 of the air conditioner is selected, the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner is displayed superimposed on the floor plan 5900 . Also, when displaying the device control screen 502 , the display control section 103 arranges the device icon 501 displayed on the floor plan 5900 outside the display area of the device control screen 502 . In the example shown in FIG. 61 , all device icons 501 are arranged in a row below the floor plan 5900 .

In addition, when the device icons 501 are arranged in a column on the lower side of the floor plan 5900, the display control section 103 may also group the device icons 501 according to specific conditions. For example, the device icons 501 may be grouped by room, may be grouped by type of device 200 , or may be grouped by category based on the type of device 200 .

In the example in FIG. 61 , the device icons 501 are arranged on the lower side of the floor plan 5900 , but they may also be arranged on the upper side of the floor plan 5900 in a horizontal row, or on the left side of the floor plan 5900 in a vertical row. or right side.

In addition, when all the device icons 501 cannot be displayed on the lower side of the floor plan 500, when the device icons 501 arranged in a horizontal row on the lower side are swiped to the left or right, the display control section 103 The device icon 501 may be scrolled leftward or rightward according to the swipe operation, and the non-displayed device icon 501 may be displayed on the display 101 .

In addition, when the device icons 501 are arranged in a row below the floor plan 5900 , the display control section 103 may display the device icons 501 selected by the user in a different display form from the device icons 501 not selected. For example, the selected device icon 501 may be displayed in a color different from that of the non-selected device icon 501, or may be displayed brighter than the non-selected device icon 501, or may be displayed in a darker color than the non-selected device icon 501. In addition, it can flash according to a certain cycle.

In addition, the display control section 103 may scroll the arrangement of the device icons 501 so that the device icon 501 selected by the user is located at a conspicuous position (for example, the leftmost, the center, or the rightmost) of the icon row.

In addition, when the device control screen 502 is displayed, the display control section 103 may arrange all the device icons 501 on the outer periphery of the ellipse as shown in FIG. 12 .

Also, in the floor plan 5900 , since rooms on all floors are simultaneously displayed on the display 101 , each room may be displayed in a small size, which may make the user's operation difficult. Therefore, the display control unit 103 can also enlarge and display the layout diagram 5900 according to the user's operation. Specifically, when the user performs an operation of enlarging a certain room in floor plan 5900 , and touch panel control unit 102 detects this operation, display control unit 103 displays the room on display 101 in an enlarged manner at a magnification rate corresponding to the enlarged amount. That's it.

FIG. 62 is a diagram showing a floor plan of a certain room enlarged and displayed in the floor plan 5900 . As shown in FIG. 62 , display control section 103 may superimpose and display a plan view showing the shape of the room in a planar manner on floor plan 5900 . Or you can switch to a top view to display it. Thus, the user can grasp the configuration of the rooms in the home and the devices 200 arranged in each room in the floor plan 5900 shown in FIG. The actual configuration location.

In addition, in the floor plan 5900 shown in FIG. 60 which is not enlarged and displayed, the display control section 103 does not need to display the device icons 501 of all the devices 200 arranged in the room, and may display only a part of the device icons 501 .

In this case, the display control unit 103 may display one or more (for example, two) device icons 501 frequently used by the user on the floor plan 5900 . Alternatively, display control section 103 may not display device icon 501 in floor plan 5900 that is not enlarged and displayed. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the number of device icons 501 displayed on the floor plan 5900 that is not enlarged and displayed from increasing and the visibility of the floor plan 5900 from being reduced.

FIG. 63 is a diagram showing the display state of the device control screen 502 in the enlarged-display floor plan 5900 shown in FIG. 62 . In FIG. 63 , the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner is displayed similarly to FIG. 54 . In addition, in FIG. 63 , only the device icons 501 placed in the enlargedly displayed room (living room) are displayed on the left side of the plan view and within the living room block. In the example of FIG. 62 , device icons 501 of an air conditioner, a lighting device, and a television are displayed in the living room in the top view, and the device icon 501 of the air conditioner is selected by the user. Therefore, these device icons 501 are displayed in a column on the left side of the top view.

When a certain room is enlarged and displayed, there is a high possibility that the user operates the device 200 placed in the room. In addition, when a certain room is enlarged and displayed, the device icons 501 other than the room are not displayed on the display 101 . Therefore, if a device icon 501 arranged in another room is displayed on the left side of the plan view when the user selects a certain device icon 501 , the user will feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, when a certain room is enlarged and displayed, display control section 103 displays only device icons 501 of devices 200 arranged in the room in a single column on the left side of the plan view. In addition, in the example of FIG. 64 , the device icon 501 is displayed on the left side of the top view, but it may also be displayed on the right side of the top view in a vertical row, or may be displayed in a horizontal row on the upper or lower side of the top view.

FIG. 64 is a diagram showing screen transition from the display state of the basic screen to the display state of the device control screen 502 . As shown in the upper left diagram of FIG. 64 , it is assumed that the user taps, for example, an equipment icon 501 of an air conditioner on a basic screen displaying a floor plan 5900 that is not enlarged. Then, as shown in the upper right diagram of FIG. 64 , the display control section 103 superimposes and displays the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner on the basic screen. On the other hand, in the screen shown in the upper right diagram of FIG. The display returns to the basic screen shown in the upper left diagram of FIG. 64 .

In addition, it is assumed that the user zooms in on the living room on the basic screen shown in the upper left diagram of FIG. 64 . Then, as shown in the lower left diagram of FIG. 64 , the display control section 103 enlarges the block of the living room and superimposes and displays the area of the living room having a size corresponding to the size of the enlarged block in the enlarged block. top view. In addition, it is assumed that the living room is zoomed out by the user in the lower left diagram of FIG. 64 . Then, the display control section 103 returns the screen display to the basic screen shown in the upper left diagram of FIG. 64 .

In addition, in the basic screen shown in the lower left diagram of FIG. 64, when the device icon 501 of an air conditioner is selected, for example, as shown in the lower right diagram of FIG. displayed on top view. In addition, in the lower right diagram of FIG. 64 , when the user taps an area on the floor plan 5900 other than the device control screen 502 or taps the device icon 501 of the air conditioner, the display control section 103 returns the screen display to that shown in FIG. 64 . screen shown in the lower left figure of .

FIG. 65 is a diagram showing the configuration of the basic screen when the device icon 501 is not displayed among the basic screens using the floor plan 5900 shown in FIG. 59 . In the form shown in FIG. 65, only the rooms constituting each floor are displayed, and the display of the device icons 501 is omitted.

FIG. 66 is a diagram showing screen transition from the display state of the basic screen to the display state of the device control screen 502 when the basic screen not displaying the device icon 501 is adopted. Assume that the user has zoomed in on, for example, the living room on the basic screen shown in the upper left diagram of FIG. 66 . Then, as shown in the lower left diagram of FIG. 66 , the display control unit 103 enlarges and displays the block of the living room, and superimposes and displays the top view of the living room on the enlarged and displayed block. Assume that the user taps, for example, the device icon 501 of an air conditioner on the screen shown in the lower left diagram of FIG. 66 . Then, as shown in the lower right diagram of FIG. 66 , the display control unit 103 superimposes and displays the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner on the top view of the living room, and arranges the device icons 501 of the living room in a vertical row on the top view of the living room. left side. In addition, in the lower right diagram of FIG. 66 , when the user taps an area on the floor plan 5900 outside the display area of the device control screen 502 , the display control unit 103 returns the screen display to the screen shown in the lower left diagram of FIG. 66 . .

FIG. 67 is a diagram showing the structure of household information 2700 when the floor plan 5200 shown in FIG. 52 is adopted. As shown in FIG. 67 , home information 6400 includes floor plan 5200 , room information 6800 , and device list 4700 managed by the server. Since the display positions of the rooms are determined in advance in the floor plan 5200 , the apex information 2800 provided in the home information 2700 is omitted from the home information 6400 .

The floor plan 5200 is, for example, image data representing the floor plan 5200 shown in FIG. 52 in the form of a bitmap. Alternatively, it may be information specifying the color, shape, size, etc. for displaying floor plan 5200 . Room information 6800 is information for determining the area of a room based on floor plan 5200 .

Fig. 68 is a diagram showing the structure of room information 6800 shown in Fig. 67 . As shown in FIG. 68 , room information 6800 includes room ID 6801 , room type 6802 , floor 6803 , and display position 6804 . Room ID 6801 is an identifier for identifying a room on floor plan 5200 . The room type 6802 indicates the type of room. A floor 6803 indicates a floor on which a room is arranged. Display position 6804 indicates the arrangement position of the room on floor plan 5200 .

FIG. 69 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence between display positions 6804 in room information 6800 and floor plans 5200 . As shown in FIG. 69 , for each block of the floor plan 5200, for example, the block in the first row and the first column is the first block (mass), the block in the first row and the second column is the second block, and the block in the first row and the third column is the mass. The block in the column is the third area, the target block in the second row and the first column is the fourth area, . . . The sequence is prescribed.

For example, a room whose room ID 6801 is A has a display position 6804 of "the first area on the first floor". Therefore, as shown in FIG. 69 , the display control section 103 analyzes that the block in the first area (the first row and the first column) of the floor plan 5201 on the first floor is the living room.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 69 , three columns of blocks are arranged in the lateral direction, so the second row, first column is the fourth area, and the third row, first column is the seventh area. However, this is only an example. For example, in the case of horizontally arranging blocks in four columns, the corresponding relationship between the order of the block codes and the arrangement positions of the blocks can be appropriately changed according to the number of horizontal blocks. So that row 2, column 1 becomes area 5, row 3, column 1 becomes area 9.

FIG. 70 is a diagram showing the configuration of a device list 4700 managed by the server 300 when the floor plan 5200 shown in FIG. 52 is adopted. The floor plan 5200 does not need to represent the arrangement position of the device 200 in the room. Therefore, in device list 4700 shown in FIG. 70 , unlike FIG. 34 , room type 6802 is registered in configuration 4704 . Except for this, the device list 4700 shown in FIG. 70 is the same as the device list 4700 shown in FIG. 34 . For example, since the air conditioner whose device ID 4701 is A is arranged in a living room, "living room" is registered in the arrangement 4704 . In addition, in the example of FIG. 70, the room type 6802 is adopted as the configuration 4704, but other information may be registered as long as the room is determined. For example, room ID 6801 can also be used as configuration 4704 .

FIG. 71 is a diagram showing the structure of the device list 3100 managed by the home controller 100 when the floor plan 5200 shown in FIG. 52 is adopted. For the same reason as the device list 4700 of FIG. 70 , the device list 3100 of FIG. 71 also registers the room type 6802 as the configuration 3104 , and is otherwise the same as the device list 3100 shown in FIG. 35 . In addition, in FIG. 71 , a room ID 6801 can also be used as the arrangement 3104 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 62 , when a certain room is zoomed in on the basic screen of the floor plan 5900 , the device list 3100 in the case where a plan view of the room is used will be described. In this case, the item of the plan view of the room may be provided in the room information 6800 shown in FIG. 68 . Furthermore, it is only necessary to register the image data of the bird's-eye view of the corresponding room in the item of the bird's-eye view of the room. In addition, for the top view of the room, as shown in FIG. 33, the origin is set at the left end of the room, the X axis is set in the horizontal direction, and the Y axis is set in the vertical direction, and each position of the room can be expressed by X and Y coordinates .

On the other hand, in the arrangement 3104 of the device list 3100 shown in FIG. 71 , in addition to the room type 6802, the coordinates of the room are also registered. In this way, display control section 103 can determine at which position on the plan view showing the room the device icon 501 should be placed based on the content of arrangement 3104 .

In addition, in this embodiment, the server 300 is not an essential component, and various information managed by the server 300 (family information 2700 and/or status of the device 200, etc.) may be managed by the home controller 100 . Accordingly, the above-described embodiment can be realized without the server 300 . In this case, the home controller 100 does not need to manage information on all the homes, but only the devices 200 controlled by the home controller 100 and the information on the homes where these devices 200 are placed.

(control of air conditioner)

In the above, the embodiment of the technical solution that does not limit the type of the target device has been described. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the technical solution in which the target device is an air conditioner (air conditioner) will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the air conditioner 201 is an example of the equipment 200 . In the control example of the air conditioner 201, the home controller 100 and the server 300 use the room information 33100 shown in FIG. 101 instead of the room information 2900 shown in FIG. 32 . In addition, the home controller uses device lists 33200A, 33200B shown in FIG. 102 instead of device list 3100 shown in FIG. 35 .

The control execution unit 211 of the air conditioner 201 receives a control command of the air conditioner 201 from the home controller 100 and/or the server 300, and controls the air conditioner 201 according to the received control command. As the control commands, commands for setting the air volume, air direction, operation mode (cold air or warm air), set temperature, and the like of the air conditioner 201 are used. In addition, the control execution unit 211 transmits the execution result of the control command and/or the state of the air conditioner 201 to the home controller 100 and/or the server 300 .

State management unit 212 manages the state of air conditioner 201 . Here, the status management unit 212 manages the status of the air conditioner 201 such as on, off, set temperature, wind direction, air volume, and operation mode (such as heating, cooling, blowing, dehumidifying, etc.) of the air conditioner 201 . The storage unit 214 stores information on the status of the air conditioner 201 managed by the status management unit 212 . Communication control unit 217 controls communication between air conditioner 201 and home controller 100 and communication between device 200 and server 300 .

FIG. 72 is a diagram showing a transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the air conditioner control screen 30102 which is the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner 201 . The left diagram of Fig. 72 shows the basic screen. The basic screen is the same as the basic screen shown in FIG. 5 . On the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 72 , the user taps the air conditioner icon 30101 which is the device icon 501 of the air conditioner 201 , and the touch panel control section 102 detects the tap. Then, the display control section 103 superimposes and displays the air conditioner control screen 30102 on the floor plan 500 as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 72 .

In addition, display control section 103 superimposes and displays wind direction mark 30105 indicating the left and right wind direction of air conditioner 201 currently set in control target area 30103 . Here, the horizontal wind direction refers to the wind direction of the air conditioner 201 when the control target area 30103 is viewed from directly above.

In the example of the right diagram in FIG. 72 , since the left and right airflow direction of the air conditioner 201 is obliquely downward to the right, a graphic of an arrow pointing obliquely downward to the right is displayed as an airflow direction mark 30105 . Thus, the user can intuitively recognize the currently set left and right wind direction of the air conditioner 201 .

In addition, display control section 103 displays gray layers superimposed on areas on floor plan 500 other than control target area 30103 . As a result, the control target area 30103 is displayed brighter than other areas, the user can be clearly aware of the layout of the control target area 30103 , and operations with a sense of presence can be realized.

Furthermore, display control section 103 displays air conditioner control screen 30102 superimposed on areas on floor plan 500 other than control target area 30103 . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the wind direction mark 30105 from being covered by the air conditioner control screen 30102 . As a result, it is possible to prevent the user from being unable to confirm the left and right wind direction of the air conditioner 201 and thereby preventing erroneous operations from occurring.

Also, when displaying the air conditioner control screen 30102, the display control section 103 retracts all the device icons 501 arranged on the floor plan 500 in the left diagram of FIG. . In the example of FIG. 72 , device icons 501 are displayed in a column on the left side of the floor plan 500 . Thereby, it is possible to prevent the device icon 501 from being hidden under the air conditioner control screen 30102, and it is possible to reduce the number of operations and the number of processing steps when selecting the next device icon 501.

In addition, in the example of the right figure of FIG. 72, the selected air conditioner icon 30101 is displayed at the top, and it arrange|positions in the position which a user can visually recognize easily.

On the other hand, in the right diagram of FIG. 72, when the user taps an area on the floor plan 500 other than the air conditioner control screen 30102, and the touch panel control section 102 detects the tap, the display control section 103 changes the display control section 103 from the screen shown in FIG. The display screen shown on the right is switched to the basic screen shown on the left in FIG. 72 . Alternatively, in the right diagram of FIG. 72, when the user taps the air conditioner icon 30101 and the touch panel control unit 102 detects the tap, the display control unit 103 switches from the display screen of the right diagram of FIG. 72 to the left diagram of FIG. The base screen of the graph.

FIG. 73 is a diagram showing screen transition when an operation to change the left and right wind direction of the air conditioner 201 is input. The left diagram of FIG. 73 is the same as the right diagram of FIG. 72 . It is assumed that the user operates the air conditioner control screen 30102 to input an operation to change the left and right wind direction of the air conditioner 201 , and the touch panel control section 102 detects the operation. Then, display control section 103 changes the direction of wind direction mark 30105 according to the amount of operation. Then, the device control unit 106 generates a control command for changing the left and right wind direction to a direction corresponding to the operation amount, and sends it to the network.

In the example shown in the right diagram of FIG. 73 , in the control target area 30103 , the left and right wind direction of the air conditioner 201 is changed from a right-down direction to a right-up direction. Therefore, display control section 103 changes the orientation of wind direction mark 30105 to an upward oblique direction.

On the other hand, when the left and right wind direction of the air conditioner 201 in the control target area 30103 is changed from obliquely upward to downward obliquely to the right, the display control unit 103 changes the direction of the wind direction mark 30105 as shown in the left diagram of FIG. Diagonally down to the right.

In this way, since the wind direction mark 30105 indicating the left and right wind direction of the air conditioner 201 is displayed in the control target area 30103 , it is possible to prevent the user from erroneously operating a device installed in a room different from the control target area 30103 .

As shown in FIG. 102 , the front direction 33209 of the air conditioner 201 is registered in advance in the device list 33200B. Here, the front direction 33209 shows which direction the front of the air conditioner faces in the floor plan 500 . In the example of the device list 33200B, the front direction 33209 is specified by the angle formed by the horizontal direction (X-axis) and the normal line of the front of the air conditioner 201 in the floor plan 500 . When an operation to change the left and right wind direction is detected by the touch panel control unit 102, the device control unit 106 determines the change amount of the left and right wind direction according to the operation amount, and generates a control command for changing the currently set left and right wind direction by the determined change amount , and send to the network.

On the other hand, device management section 105 registers the left and right wind directions changed by device control section 106 in wind direction 33210 of device list 33200B. Then, display control section 103 changes the direction of wind direction mark 30105 to registered wind direction 33210 .

For example, in the control target area 30103 shown in the left diagram of FIG. 73 , the front direction of the air conditioner 201 is 0 degrees (parallel to the horizontal direction), and the current left and right wind direction is set to -45 degrees. In addition, it is assumed that the user inputs an operation to change the left-right airflow direction of the air conditioner 201 to +45 degrees. Here, the horizontal wind direction increases positively as the angle of counterclockwise rotation with respect to the X-axis increases, and increases negatively as the angle of clockwise rotation with respect to the X-axis increases. Then, display control section 103 changes the direction of wind direction mark 30105 to the direction of +45 degrees as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 73 .

In addition, the display control unit 103 can make the wind direction mark 30105 have the function of notifying the air volume in addition to the left and right wind directions. In the example of FIG. 73, each wind direction mark 30105 has the same length and is represented by three parallel arrows pointing in the same direction. Therefore, the display control section 103 may adopt a display method in which, for example, the number of arrows increases stepwise as the air volume of the air conditioner 201 increases, and the number of arrows decreases stepwise as the air volume decreases.

As a result, the user can quickly recognize not only the left and right wind directions but also the air volume through the wind direction mark 30105 . In addition, by providing the wind direction mark 30105 with the air volume reporting function, it is not necessary to display a different wind direction mark 30105 on the display screen to report the air flow rate, and the display control processing steps can be reduced while improving the visibility of the display screen. .

74 is a diagram showing screen transitions between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the air conditioner control screen 30102 when a method of displaying information on the operating state of the air conditioner 201 in the control target area 30103 is adopted. In the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 74 , when the user selects the air conditioner icon 30101 and the touch panel control unit 102 detects the selection, the display control unit 103 switches the screen display to the air conditioner icon shown in the right diagram of FIG. 74 . Display status of machine control screen 30102.

In this case, display control section 103 displays information corresponding to the operating state of air conditioner 201 in control target area 30103 . Here, as the operating state, for example, the set temperature of the air conditioner is used. And, the display control unit 103 displays the information on the working state by displaying the control object area 30103 in a color corresponding to the set temperature.

On the other hand, in the right diagram of FIG. 74 , when the user selects an area on the floor plan 500 other than the air conditioner control screen 30102 , the display control unit 103 selects from the air conditioner control screen 30102 shown in the right diagram of FIG. 74 . The display state switches to the display state of the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 74 . Alternatively, in the right diagram of FIG. 74, when the user taps the air conditioner icon 30101 and the touch panel control unit 102 detects the tap, the display control unit 103 switches from the display screen of the right diagram of FIG. 74 to the left diagram of FIG. The base screen of the graph.

FIG. 75 is a diagram showing the configuration of the display state of the air conditioner control screen 30102 at the time of high temperature setting. FIG. 76 is a diagram showing the configuration of the display state of the air conditioner control screen 30102 at the time of low temperature setting.

As shown in FIGS. 75 and 76 , the display control unit 103 displays the control target area 30103 in different colors when the set temperature of the air conditioner 201 is high and when the set temperature of the air conditioner 201 is low.

Here, the display control section 103 may change the color of the control target area 30103 so that the warm color (for example, red, orange) becomes stronger as the set temperature increases. And, when the set temperature is lower than a certain temperature, the display control unit 103 switches the control target area 30103 to a cool color (such as blue, light blue), and changes the color of the control target area 30103 so that as the setting The temperature becomes lower and the degree of the color of the cool color system becomes stronger.

Alternatively, the display control unit 103 may also display the control object area 30103 in a warm color when the operating mode of the air conditioner 201 is set to warm air, and display the control object area 30103 in a cool color when the operating mode is set to cool. The control target area 30103 is displayed in color, and the control target area 30103 is displayed in a color (for example, green) intermediate between warm and cool colors when the operation mode of the air conditioner 201 is set to normal.

Alternatively, the display control unit 103 may also display a translucent layer of warm colors in an overlapping manner in the control object area 30103 when the operating mode of the air conditioner 201 is set to warm air, and the warm color layers will be displayed as the set temperature increases. The transparency of the layer is set to be lower, and the transparency of the warm color layer is set to be higher as the set temperature becomes lower. In addition, the display control unit 103 may also display a translucent cool color layer in an overlapping manner in the control object area 30103 when the operating mode of the air conditioner 201 is set to cool air, and the cool color layer will be displayed as the set temperature increases. The transparency of is set higher, and the transparency of the cool color layer is set lower as the set temperature becomes lower.

In addition, the display control unit 103 may superimpose and display a semi-transparent green-based layer on the control target area 30103 for the normal mode, and set the transparency of the green-based layer to be lower as the set temperature becomes higher. The lower the constant temperature, the higher the transparency of the green-based layer. Here, the normal mode is a mode for performing only air blowing.

In this way, since the color of the control object area 30103 is switched according to the operating mode and the set temperature, the user does not need to go to the vicinity of the air outlet of the air conditioner 201 to feel the output wind in order to confirm the switching of the operating mode and the set temperature of the air conditioner 201. , you can confirm the switching of the working mode and the set temperature.

FIG. 77 is a diagram showing an operation example of the vertical airflow direction of the air conditioner 201 using the air conditioner control screen 30102 . The air conditioner control screen 30102 includes a screen 30701 showing the up and down wind direction. Here, the up and down wind direction refers to the wind direction seen from the side of the air conditioner 201 .

On screen 30701 , an image of air conditioner 201 when air conditioner 201 is viewed from approximately sideways with respect to the front direction is displayed. In addition, a wind direction indicator (indicator) 30702 is displayed on the screen 30701 . The wind direction indicator mark 30702 has an elongated shape that expands slightly radially from the vicinity of the air outlet of the air conditioner as a starting point. In addition, the wind direction indication mark 30702 indicates the currently set up and down wind direction of the air conditioner 201 by the orientation in the longitudinal direction.

When the user flicks the screen 30701 up and down with the contact object 30603 (for example, a finger), the display control unit 103 changes the orientation of the wind direction indicator 30702 according to the movement amount of the flick. Here, as the movement amount of the swipe, for example, the distance between the position of the contact object 30603 on the display 101 at a certain measurement timing during the swipe and the position of the contact object 30603 on the display 101 at the start of the swipe can be used. . Here, depending on the amount of movement means that as the amount of movement increases, the amount of change in the wind direction becomes larger, and as the amount of movement decreases, the amount of change in the wind direction becomes smaller.

In the example of FIG. 77 , the touch object 30603 is swiped downward in the screen 30701 as (A)→(B)→(C)→(D). The direction is turned and its orientation changes downwards.

In addition, when the user starts to flick in the screen 30701 using the touch object 30603, as shown in FIG. 77(B), the display control section 103 displays the wind direction adjustable range 30703 on the screen 30701. The adjustable range 30703 includes an upper limit line and a lower limit line. The upper limit line shows an adjustment limit on the upper side of the up and down wind direction. The lower limit line shows an adjustment limit on the lower side of the up and down airflow direction. In the example of FIG. 77(B), the upper limit line faces the horizontal direction, and the lower limit line faces the substantially vertical direction. Furthermore, the adjustable range 30703 is displayed so that the air outlet is located at the intersection of the upper limit line and the lower limit line, and the starting point of the wind direction indicator mark 30702 is located at the intersection of the upper limit line and the lower limit line. In addition, the wind direction indicator mark 30702 is displayed between the upper limit line and the lower limit line.

By displaying the adjustable range 30703, the user can intuitively recognize to what extent the up and down wind direction can be adjusted. In addition, since the adjustable range 30703 is displayed only when the wind direction indicator 30702 is swiped, the display of the adjustable range 30703 can give the user a real sense of operating the up and down wind direction. In addition, in the above description, the adjustable range 30703 is displayed, but in this embodiment, the adjustable range 30703 may not be displayed.

In Fig. 77(B), when the user uses the touch object 30603 to further swipe downward in the screen 30701, as shown in Fig. 77(C), according to the amount of movement of the swipe, the wind direction indicator 30702 further moves clockwise. Turn, its orientation is further down. Then, when the user moves the contact object 30603 away from the screen 30701, the up and down wind direction is determined, and the device control unit 106 determines the change amount of the up and down wind direction according to the movement amount of the swipe from the start to the end, and generates an The control order of the determined amount of change in the determined up and down wind direction is sent to the network.

Here, in order to manage the vertical wind direction, a registration column for the vertical inclination may be provided in the device list 33200B shown in FIG. 102 . Furthermore, when the vertical wind direction is determined by the equipment control section 106, the equipment management section 105 only needs to register the vertical inclination in the registration column of the vertical inclination. As the vertical wind direction, for example, the angle of the vertical wind direction when the adjustment limit on the lower side or the upper side is used as a reference may be used.

FIG. 78 is a diagram showing an operation example of the left and right wind directions of the air conditioner 201 using the air conditioner control screen 30102 . The air conditioner control screen 30102 includes a screen 30801 showing left and right wind directions. An image of the air conditioner 201 viewed from the front is displayed on the screen 30801 . In addition, a wind direction indication mark 30802 is displayed on the screen 30801 . Wind direction indicator mark 30802 is represented by a plurality of (for example, three) curved lines extending downward from the outlet of air conditioner 201 . In FIG. 78(A), the left and right wind direction of the air conditioner 201 is set to the left when the air conditioner 201 is viewed from the front, so the wind direction indicator 30802 faces left.

When the user flicks the touch object 30603 to the left or right on the screen 30801 , the display control unit 103 changes the direction of the wind direction indicator 30802 according to the movement amount of the flick. In the example of FIG. 78 , the touch object 30603 is swiped from left to right in the screen 30801 as (A)→(B)→(C)→(D). The outlet of the image of the image is used as the starting point and rotates counterclockwise, and its orientation changes from left to right.

Also, when the user starts flicking on the screen 30801 using the touch object 30603 , as shown in FIG. 78(B) , the display control section 103 displays the setting state display section 30803 on the screen 30801 . The setting status display section 30803 is a line parallel to the horizontal direction displayed at the bottom of the screen 30801, and notifies the user that an operation to change the left and right wind direction has been accepted. In addition, the display of the setting status display section 30803 may also be omitted.

In FIG. 78(B), when the user uses the touch object 30603 to further swipe to the right in the screen 30801, as shown in FIG. 78(C), according to the amount of swipe, the wind direction indicator 30802 takes the form of the image of the air conditioner 201 As the starting point, the blower outlet is further rotated counterclockwise, and its direction is further changed to the right. Then, when the user removes the contact object 30603 from the screen 30801, the change amount of the left and right wind direction corresponding to the movement amount of the swipe from the start to the end of the swipe is specified, and the device control section 106 generates A control command for changing the determined amount of change is sent to the network.

FIG. 79 is a diagram showing an operation example of the air volume of the air conditioner 201 using the air conditioner control screen 30102 . The air conditioner control screen 30102 includes a screen 30901 showing the air volume. An image of the air conditioner 201 viewed from the front is displayed on the screen 30901 . In addition, an air volume indication mark 30902 is displayed on the screen 30901 . The air volume indicator mark 30902 is represented by a plurality of (for example, three) gentle curved lines extending downward from the outlet of the air conditioner 201 .

When the user uses the touch object 30603 to zoom in on the screen 30901, the display control unit 103 increases the number of air volume indication marks 30902 in stages according to the zoomed-in amount. On the other hand, when the user uses two touch objects 30603 to zoom out in the screen 30901, the display control unit 103 gradually reduces the number of air volume indication marks 30902 according to the amount of zooming out. Here, the amount of reduction or enlargement means that as the amount increases, the amount of change in the air volume becomes larger, and as the amount decreases, the amount of change in the air volume becomes smaller.

In the example in Fig. 79, the contact object 30603 in the screen 30901 is enlarged as (A)→(B)→(C), and according to the enlarged amount, the number of the air flow indication signs 30902 increases step by step to 2→3 → 5 items. Here, as the amount of enlargement, for example, the difference between the distance between the two contact objects 30603 on the display 101 at a certain measurement timing during the enlargement and the distance between the two contact objects 30603 on the display 101 at the start of the enlargement can be used. quantity.

Then, when the user removes the two touch objects 30603 from the screen 30901, the device control section 106 determines the change amount of the air volume based on the zoom-in amount from the start time to the end time, and generates the determined change amount for changing the current air volume control commands and send them to the network.

On the other hand, in FIG. 79(C), when the screen 30901 is reduced by the contact object 30603, as shown in (C)→(B)→(A), according to the amount of reduction, the number of air volume indication marks 30902 The phased reduction is 5 → 3 → 2. Here, as the amount of reduction, for example, the difference between the distance between the two objects 30603 on the display 101 at a certain measurement timing during reduction and the distance between the two objects 30603 on the display 101 at the start of reduction can be used. quantity.

In addition, in the above description, the air volume is increased by zooming out and the air volume is decreased by zooming out. However, this embodiment is not limited to this, and the air volume may be decreased by zooming in and increased by zooming out. In this case, the display control unit 103 decreases the number of air flow indication marks 30902 in steps as the zoom-in amount increases, and increases the number of air flow indication marks 30902 in steps as the zoom-out amount increases. Can.

In addition, the air volume indicator 30902 may have the function of the wind direction indicator 30802 . That is, when the air volume indicator mark 30902 is swiped from left to right or from right to left, the display control unit 103 changes the direction of the air volume indicator mark 30902 from left to right or from right to left according to the movement amount of the swipe. That's it.

Thus, the air volume indicator 30902 and the wind direction indicator 30802 are integrated into one indicator, and the operation of switching from the air volume indicator 30902 to the wind direction indicator 30802 or from the wind direction indicator 30802 to the air volume indicator 30902 is not required. Saves the number of operations and processing steps.

80A and 80B are flowcharts showing the flow of processing in which the home controller 100 controls the device 200 in one embodiment of the present invention.

First, the touch panel control section 102 detects that the user has selected the device icon 501 representing a certain device 200 on the basic screen ( S31001 ). Here, it is assumed that the air conditioner icon 30101 is selected. Next, the display control section 103 retracts all the device icons 501 from the display area of the device control screen 502 (S31002). Here, as shown in FIG. 72 , all the device icons 501 are retracted out of the display area of the floor plan 500 .

Next, the display control section 103 adjusts the display position of the retracted device icon 501 (S31003). For example, the display position of the retreated device icon 501 is adjusted so that the selected air conditioner icon 30101 is displayed at a specific position as shown in FIG. 72 . In addition, the device icon 501 may retreat to surround the device control screen 502 as shown in FIG. 12 . In this case, display control section 103 may place air conditioner icon 30101 at a specific position (for example, the uppermost, lowermost, rightmost, or leftmost) position on the outer circumference of the ellipse.

Next, the display control section 103 displays the device control screen 502 of the selected device 200 (S31004). Here, as shown in FIG. 72 , an air conditioner control screen 30102 is displayed as the device control screen 502 .

Next, the display control section 103 displays the operating states of the devices 200 belonging to the room area where the selected device icon 501 is placed (S31005). Here, as shown in FIG. 72 , in the control target area 30103 , a wind direction mark 30105 is displayed as an operating state.

Next, the touch panel control section 102 detects that the touch object 30603 starts to touch the display 101 (S31006). Next, touch panel control section 102 determines whether or not the contact object of touch object 30603 is device icon 501 (S31007).

Then, if the contact object is the device icon 501 (YES in S31007), the touch panel control unit 102 determines whether the device icon 501 of the contact object is the same device icon 501 as the current control object device 200 (air conditioner icon 30101) (S31008). Then, if the device icon 501 to be touched is the same device icon 501 as the device 200 currently being controlled (YES in S31008), the display control unit 103 displays the device control screen 502 (the air conditioner control screen 30102 ) is not displayed, but the basic screen is displayed (S31011).

On the other hand, when the device icon 501 to be touched is not the same device icon 501 (air conditioner icon 30101) as the device 200 currently being controlled (NO in S31008), the process returns to S31003. In this case, the display control section 103 adjusts the arrangement positions of all the device icons 501 after retreating so that the device icon 501 of the contact object is arranged at a specific position, and displays the device control screen of the device 200 corresponding to the device icon 501 of the contact object. 502.

On the other hand, when the contact target is not the device icon 501 (NO in S31007), touch panel control section 102 determines whether the contact target is the device control screen 502 (S31009). Then, if the contact object is the device control screen 502 (YES in S31009), the control flow of the device control screen 502 is executed (S31010), and the process returns to S31006.

On the other hand, if the contact object is not the device control screen 502 (NO in S31009), the display control section 103 hides the device control screen 502 and displays the basic screen (S31011). For example, when an area on the floor plan 500 outside the display area of the air conditioner control screen 30102 is tapped in the right figure of FIG. The basic screen shown in the figure.

FIG. 81 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen 502 in S31010 shown in FIG. 80B . FIG. 81 is a flowchart in the case of adjusting the wind direction or air volume on the device control screen 502 . First, when the touch panel control section 102 detects an operation on the screen indicating the wind direction or air volume ("YES" in S31101), the process proceeds to S31102, and if the operation is not detected ("No in S31101") ”) to end processing. For example, in the state where any one of the air conditioner control screens 30102 in FIGS. When the zoom-in or zoom-in operation is performed, it is determined as "YES" in S31101.

Next, when the detected operation is an operation to move the contact object 30603 up and down (YES in S31102), display control section 103 displays screen 30701 showing the up and down wind direction (S31103). For example, when the touch object 30603 is swiped up and down on the screen 30801 showing the left and right wind direction or the screen 30901 showing the air volume, the display control unit 103 switches the screen display from the screen 30801 showing the left and right wind direction or the screen 30901 showing the air volume to the screen showing up and down. Wind direction screen 30701. Also, when the screen 30701 showing the up and down wind direction is displayed from the beginning, the display control section 103 maintains the display of the screen 30701 showing the up and down wind direction even if the touch object 30603 is swiped up and down.

On the other hand, when the detected operation is an operation to move the contact object 30603 left and right ("No" in S31102 and "Yes" in S31105), display control section 103 makes the left and right wind direction A screen 30801 is displayed (S31106). For example, when the touch object 30603 is swiped left and right on the screen 30701 representing the up and down wind direction or the screen 30901 representing the air volume, the display control unit 103 switches the screen display from the screen 30701 representing the up and down wind direction or the screen 30901 representing the air volume to the screen displaying left and right. Wind direction screen 30801. Also, when the screen 30801 showing the left and right wind directions is displayed from the beginning, the display control section 103 maintains the display of the screen 30801 showing the left and right wind directions even if the touch object 30603 is swiped left and right.

On the other hand, when the detected operation is zooming out or zooming in (NO in S31102, NO in S31105, and YES in S31108), the display control section 103 makes the display air volume The screen 30901 is displayed (S31109). For example, when the contact object 30603 is reduced or enlarged on the screen 30701 showing the up and down wind direction or the screen 30901 showing the left and right wind direction, the display control unit 103 switches the screen display from the screen 30701 showing the up and down wind direction or the screen 30801 showing the left and right wind direction to Screen 30901 showing air volume. Also, when the screen 30901 indicating the air volume is displayed from the beginning, the display control section 103 maintains the display of the screen 30901 indicating the air volume even if the contact object 30603 is reduced or enlarged.

On the other hand, when the detected operation does not belong to the operation of moving the contact object up, down, left and right, or zooming in and out ("No" in S31108), the process ends.

In S31104, when the touch panel control section 102 detects the vertical operation amount of the touch object 30603 on the screen 30701 indicating the vertical air direction, the device control section 106 determines the control content of the vertical air direction according to the operation amount.

In S31107, when the touch panel control unit 102 detects the left and right operation amount of the touch object 30603 on the screen 30801 indicating the left and right wind direction, the device control unit 106 determines the control content of the left and right wind direction corresponding to the operation amount.

In S31110, when touch panel control section 102 detects the operation amount of shrinking or enlarging touch object 30603 on screen 30901 indicating the air volume, device control section 106 determines the air volume control content corresponding to the operation amount.

Next, the display control section 103 implements a display corresponding to the setting in the control target area 30103 (S31111). For example, as shown in FIG. 73 , when the horizontal wind direction is changed, display control section 103 orients wind direction mark 30105 in the direction of the changed horizontal wind direction. Also, when the air volume is changed, display control section 103 changes the number of wind direction marks 30105 according to the changed air volume. In addition, in the example of FIG. 73, only the wind direction mark 30105 which shows the left and right wind direction is displayed in the control object area 30103, However, the wind direction mark which shows the up and down wind direction may be displayed separately. In this case, when changing the up and down wind direction, display control section 103 orients the wind direction mark indicating the up and down wind direction in the direction of the changed up and down wind direction. Here, as the wind direction mark indicating the up and down wind direction, for example, one arrow indicating the direction of the up and down wind direction may be used.

In S31112, the device control section 106 generates a control command corresponding to the determined control content. Next, the control command transmission flow (refer to FIG. 41) is executed (S31113).

FIG. 82 is a diagram showing an operation example of the set temperature 31203 of the air conditioner 201 using the air conditioner control screen 30102 . The air conditioner control screen 30102 includes a temperature setting screen 31201 . In the example of FIG. 82 , the temperature setting screen 31201 is provided in the left half area of the air conditioner control screen 30102 . A set temperature 31203 of the air conditioner 201 is displayed in the center of the temperature setting screen 31201 , and an operation mode 31202 is displayed on the left side of the set temperature 31203 . In FIGS. 82(A) and (B), since the operation mode of the air conditioner 201 is set to warm air, the operation mode 31202 is displayed as warm air.

In the example of FIG. 82 , when the set temperature 31203 of the air conditioner 201 is set based on the operation on the temperature setting screen 31201 , the air conditioner 201 switches to the operation mode corresponding to the set temperature 31203 .

In the example of FIG. 82, the set temperature of the air conditioner 201 is lowered as (A)→(B)→(C)→(D) is changed. In (B)→(C), the set temperature 31203 is lowered from 26 degrees to 23 degrees. For example, it is assumed that the operation mode 31202 is set to warm air when the set temperature 31203 is higher than 25 degrees, and the operation mode 31202 is set to the normal mode when the set temperature 31203 is 25 degrees or less. Thus, the device control unit 106 transmits to the network a control command for setting the set temperature 31203 to 23 degrees and switching the operation mode 31202 of the air conditioner 201 from heating to normal.

In Fig. 82(C)→(D), the set temperature 31203 is switched from 23 degrees to 19 degrees. Here, for example, it is predetermined that the operation mode 31202 is set to normal when the set temperature 31203 is higher than 20 degrees, and the operation mode 31202 is set to cool air when the set temperature is 20 degrees or less. Thus, the device control unit 106 transmits to the network a control command for setting the set temperature 31203 to 19 degrees and switching the operation mode 31202 of the air conditioner 201 to cool air.

In addition, the change of the operation mode 31202 according to the set temperature 31203 is not limited to this example. For example, the device control unit 106 can also determine the working mode by comparing the set temperature 31203 with the outdoor or indoor temperature. For example, the device control unit 106 can also calculate the difference between the outdoor or indoor temperature (T1) and the set temperature (T2) (ΔT=T1-T2), and set the operation mode 31202 in the case of ΔT>+n1 For cold air, when -n2≦ΔT≦+n1, the operation mode 31202 is set to normal, and when ΔT<-n2, the operation mode is set to warm air. Here, n1 and n2 are predetermined constants.

The device control section 106 may obtain the outdoor or indoor temperature by causing the air conditioner 201 to transmit the outdoor or indoor temperature when changing the set temperature 31203 . In general, the air conditioner 201 is provided with a temperature sensor for measuring an outdoor temperature in an outdoor unit or the like, or is provided with a temperature sensor for measuring an indoor temperature in an indoor unit or the like. Therefore, the air conditioner 201 may measure the outdoor or indoor temperature using this temperature sensor.

Next, details of the operation of the temperature setting 31203 will be described. In the example of FIG. 82(A) , the touch object 30603 is swiped downward on the temperature setting screen 31201 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 82(B), the display control unit 103 lowers the set temperature 31203 according to the movement amount of the downward flick. In the example of FIG. 82(B), the set temperature 31203 is lowered from 27 degrees to 26 degrees, so the set temperature 31203 is displayed as 26 degrees. Here, depending on the amount of movement means that as the amount of movement increases, the amount of change in the set temperature becomes larger, and as the amount of movement decreases, the amount of change in the set temperature becomes smaller.

In FIG. 82(B), the touch object 30603 is swiped further downward on the temperature setting screen 31201. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 82(C), the display control unit 103 lowers the set temperature 31203 from 26 degrees to 23 degrees according to the movement amount of the downward swipe.

Similarly, in FIG. 82(C)→(D), the set temperature 31203 decreases from 23 degrees to 19 degrees according to the movement amount of the downward stroke.

On the other hand, when the contact object 30603 is swiped upward, the display control section 103 raises the set temperature 31203 according to the movement amount of the upward flick.

Here, when the coordinates in the vertical direction of the start point of the touch panel control section 102's flicking on the temperature setting screen 31201 is below the coordinates in the vertical direction of the contact point of the contact object 30603 at a certain measurement timing during the flicking It is judged to be swipe up. On the other hand, touch panel control section 102 determines that it is downward when the coordinates in the vertical direction of the start point of the swipe are above the coordinates in the vertical direction of the contact point of contact object 30603 at a certain measurement timing during the swipe. Just swipe.

In addition, when touch panel control section 102 detects the end of the upward swipe, device control section 106 determines the change amount of set temperature 31203 based on the movement amount of the swipe from the start point to the end point, and generates A control command to increase the current set temperature 31203 by the determined change amount is sent to the network.

When the touch panel control unit 102 detects the end of the downward swipe, the device control unit 106 determines the change amount of the set temperature 31203 according to the movement amount of the swipe from the start point to the end point, and generates The set temperature 31203 is reduced by the change amount determined by the control command and sent to the network.

In addition, when the contact object 30603 is swiped out of the area of the temperature setting screen 31201, the display control unit 103 and the device control unit 106 can regard the intersection point of the temperature setting screen 31201 and the track of the swiped contact object 30603 as The end point of the swipe is processed, and the actual end point of the swipe outside the area of the temperature setting screen 31201 may be processed as the end point of the swipe.

When the user changes the set temperature 31203 significantly, the user may repeatedly swipe the contact object 30603 a plurality of times. Therefore, even if the swipe by the contact object 30603 ends, the device control unit 106 does not immediately determine that the set temperature 31203 has been determined. The set temperature 31203 has been determined and a control command can be generated. This prevents the control command from being sent every time the swipe ends, and reduces the increase in communication traffic and the processing load on the home controller 100 and the air conditioner 201 .

On the other hand, the display control unit 103 may change the display of the set temperature 31203 at any time by swiping regardless of whether the set temperature 31203 is determined or not. Thus, the user can know the amount of change in the set temperature 31203 corresponding to the flick.

In this way, in the example of FIG. 82 , since the operation of setting temperature 31203 and the operation of the operation mode are both used, the number of processing steps of the home controller 100 and the number of operations of the user can be reduced.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 82 , the set temperature 31203 is changed according to the amount of flicking, but this embodiment is not limited thereto, and the set temperature 31203 may be changed according to the direction of the flick. For example, in FIG. 82(A) , when the temperature setting screen 31201 is swiped upward by the touch object 30603 , the display control section 103 raises the set temperature 31203 by a predetermined temperature. On the other hand, when the touch object 30603 is swiped downward on the temperature setting screen 31201 , the display control section 103 lowers the set temperature 31203 by a predetermined temperature.

Here, it is assumed that the set temperature 31203 is changed by, for example, 0.5 degrees by one swipe. In this case, when the contact object 30603 is swiped downward twice in the temperature setting screen 31201 of FIG. 82(A), as shown in FIG. 82(B), the set temperature 31203 is changed from 27 degrees to 26 degrees. Spend. On the other hand, in FIG. 82(B), when the contact object 30603 is swiped upward twice, as shown in FIG. 82(A), the set temperature 31203 is changed from 26 degrees to 27 degrees.

In addition, when no next swipe is input within a certain period of time after the last upward or downward swipe of the touch object 30603 is input, the device control unit 106 determines the change amount of the set temperature 31203 according to the number of times of swipe. , generate a control command for changing the current set temperature 31203 by the determined change amount, and send it to the network.

In addition, 0.5 degrees, which is the change amount of the temperature changed by one swipe, is just an example, and a value other than 0.5 degrees, such as 1 degree or 2 degrees, may be adopted.

In addition, when the set temperature is changed by the direction of the swipe, the change amount of the set temperature 31203 may be determined in consideration of the direction of the swipe and the amount of movement. In this case, when the direction of the swipe is upward, the set temperature 31203 is raised, and when the direction of the swipe is downward, the set temperature 31203 is lowered. Also, the change amount of the set temperature 31203 may be determined according to the movement amount of the swipe.

Furthermore, in this case, when the contact object 30603 exceeds the temperature setting screen 31201, the change amount of the set temperature 31203 may be determined including the exceeding part, or may be determined without including the exceeding part. The amount of change of 31203.

FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen 502 shown in S31010 of FIG. 80B . In addition, FIG. 83 is a flowchart in the case of adjusting temperature on the device control screen 502 .

First, when the touch panel control section 102 detects an operation on the temperature setting screen 31201 (YES in S31301), the process proceeds to S31302, and if the operation is not detected (NO in S31301 ) to end processing.

For example, when the touch panel control section 102 detects contact of the contact object 30603 on the temperature setting screen 31201 while the air conditioner control screen 30102 shown in FIG.

Next, when the touch panel control section 102 detects an operation to move the contact object 30603 up and down (YES in S31302), the device control section 106 determines the value of the set temperature 31203 according to the vertical movement amount of the contact object 30603. Control content (S31303). For example, when the contact object 30603 is swiped upwards or downwards on the temperature setting screen 31201 shown in FIG. 82 , the device control unit 106 determines the changed set temperature according to the movement amount and direction of the swiping.

On the other hand, when touch panel control section 102 detects an operation other than the operation of moving contact object 30603 up and down ("No" in S31302), the process ends. For example, in the case where a tap, zoom-out, or zoom-in operation is detected by touch panel control section 102, it is determined as "No" in S31302.

Next, the display control section 103 implements a display corresponding to the setting in the control target area 30103 (S31304). For example, it is assumed that when the operation mode is switched from warm air to cold air with the change of the set temperature 31203, as shown in FIG. And it is displayed in a cool color corresponding to the set temperature 31203.

Next, the device control section 106 generates a control command corresponding to the control content (S31305). For example, as shown in FIG. 82, when the operating mode is switched from warm air to cold air due to the set temperature dropping from 26 degrees to 19 degrees, the device control unit 106 generates Become a control command of 19 degrees. Next, the control command transmission flow (see FIG. 41) is executed (S31306).

FIG. 84 is a diagram showing another example of transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the air conditioner control screen 31400 . The left figure in Fig. 84 shows the basic screen. The basic screen is the same as the basic screen shown in FIG. 5 . On the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 84 , the user taps the air conditioner icon 30101 , and touch panel control section 102 detects the tap. Then, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 84 , the display control section 103 switches to the display state of the air conditioner control screen 31400 . The air conditioner control screen 31400 is constituted by the floor plan 500 and uses the adjustment area 31401 as the device control screen 502 of the air conditioner 201 . The adjustment area 31401 is an area on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the room in which the air conditioner 201 to be adjusted is installed, and is used to adjust the set temperature of the air conditioner 201 .

Also in FIG. 84 , all the device icons 501 displayed on the floor plan 500 on the basic screen are retracted outside the display area of the floor plan 500 in the same manner as in FIG. 72 .

FIG. 85 is a diagram showing the configuration of the display state of the adjustment area 31401 . Display control section 103 displays a gray layer in areas on floor plan 500 other than adjustment area 31401 , and displays adjustment area 31401 brighter than other areas. This enables the user to clearly recognize the area of the room where the air conditioner 201 is installed. In addition, in the example of FIG. 85 , a gray layer is displayed in the area other than the adjustment area 31401, and the adjustment area 31401 is displayed brighter than other areas. If the degree is set higher than other areas, the adjustment area 31401 is displayed brightly.

FIG. 86 is a diagram showing an operation example of the set temperature of the air conditioner 201 using the adjustment area 31401 . A set temperature 31601 is displayed in the adjustment area 31401 . Assume that the touch panel control section 102 detects that the touch object 30603 in the adjustment area 31401 is flicked upward. Then, the display control section 103 raises the set temperature 31601 according to the movement amount of the upward flick. In the example of the upper left diagram → upper right diagram in FIG. 86 , the set temperature 31601 rises from 19 degrees to 21 degrees according to the movement amount of the upward swipe. In the same manner, the set temperature 31601 rises to 21 degrees → 23 degrees → 24 degrees in the order of the upper right diagram → the lower right diagram → the lower left diagram of Fig. 86 .

On the other hand, when the contact object 30603 is swiped downward in the adjustment area 31401, for example, as shown in the lower left diagram → lower right diagram → upper right diagram → upper left diagram in Figure 86, the set temperature 31601 drops to 24 degrees → 23 degrees → 21 degrees → 19 degrees.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 86 , the set temperature 31601 is changed according to the amount of the touch object 30603 in the adjustment area 31401. Change the set temperature 31601 in the moving direction. The details of changing the set temperature 31601 according to the direction of the swipe have already been described with reference to FIG. 82 , so the description is omitted here.

In some cases, two or more air conditioners 201 are installed in a room corresponding to the adjustment area 31401 . In this case, it is convenient for the user if the preset temperatures 31601 of the plurality of air conditioners 201 can be adjusted collectively. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when a plurality of air conditioners 201 are installed in a room corresponding to the adjustment area 31401 , the adjustment area 31401 serves as a place for collectively adjusting the set temperatures 31601 of the plurality of air conditioners 201 . Device control screen 502 to use.

FIG. 87 is a diagram showing an equipment control sequence when a plurality of air conditioners 201 are installed in a room corresponding to an adjustment area 31401 . In addition, in FIG. 87 , the air conditioners to be controlled are the air conditioner A31701 and the air conditioner B31702 .

First, the touch panel control section 102 of the home controller 100 accepts an operation on the device control screen 502 (S31701). Here, touch panel control section 102 accepts an operation of swiping contact object 30603 in adjustment area 31401 .

Next, the device control section 106 sends a control command to the air conditioner A31701 (S31702). Here, the device control section 106 transmits a command to change the set temperature 31601 of the air conditioner A31701 as a control command.

Next, the air conditioner A31701 having received the control command executes the control command (S31703). In this case, the air conditioner A31701 changes the set temperature 31601 according to the control command. Next, the air conditioner A31701 transmits the control result to the home controller 100 (S31704).

Next, the device control section 106 of the home controller 100 transmits a control command to the air conditioner B31702 similarly to the air conditioner A31701 (S31705), and executes the processes of S31706 and S1707.

Next, the display control section 103 updates the display screen (S31708). Here, as shown in FIG. 86 , when the set temperature 31601 is changed from 19 degrees to 21 degrees, the set temperature 31601 displayed in the adjustment area 31401 is changed from 19 degrees to 21 degrees.

FIG. 88 is a diagram showing still another example of an equipment control sequence when a plurality of air conditioners 201 are installed in a room corresponding to an adjustment area 31401 . In FIG. 88 , the control command is sent to the air conditioner A31701 and the air conditioner B31702 via the server 300 .

S31801 is the same as S31701 of FIG. 87 . Next, the device control unit 106 of the home controller 100 transmits a control command to the server 300 (S31802). The server 300 having received the control command transmits the control command to the air conditioner A31701 (S31803). Next, the air conditioner A31701 executes the received control command (S31804). Next, the air conditioner A31701 transmits the control result to the server 300 (S31805). The server 300 having received the control result continues to transmit the control command to the air conditioner B31702 (S31806). The air conditioner B31702 that has received the control command executes the control command (S31807). Next, the air conditioner B31702 transmits the control result to the server 300 (S31808). Next, the server 300 transmits the received control result to the home controller 100 (S31809). Next, display control section 103 updates the display screen in the same manner as S31708 in FIG. 87 (S31810).

In this way, when a plurality of air conditioners 201 are installed in a room corresponding to the adjustment area 31401 , the adjustment area 31401 becomes the device control screen 502 shared by the plurality of air conditioners 201 . Therefore, the user can change the preset temperatures of a plurality of air conditioners 201 at a time.

FIG. 89 is a diagram showing an operation example of the set temperature 31601 of the air conditioner 201 using the adjustment area 31401 . In the example of FIG. 89 , the touch object 30603 slides upward in the adjustment area 31401 through the upper left diagram→the upper right diagram→the lower right diagram. In the upper right image, the contact object 30603 is located within the area of the adjustment area 31401 , but in the lower right image, the contact object 30603 is located outside the area of the adjustment area 31401 . In the example of FIG. 89 , even if the touch object 30603 is swiped outside the adjustment area 31401 , the amount of change of the set temperature 31601 is determined by the swiped movement amount including the excess portion. Thus, in the upper right diagram→the lower right diagram, the set temperature 31601 rises to 24 degrees→26 degrees.

Specifically, if the swipe start point is within the adjustment area 31401 , touch panel control section 102 determines that the touch object 30603 has started to swipe to the adjustment area 31401 . Furthermore, even if the swipe exceeds the adjustment area 31401, the display control section 103 and the device control section 106 enable the movement amount of the swipe outside the adjustment area 31401 to determine the change amount of the set temperature 31601.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 89 , the case of raising the temperature is shown, but the case of lowering the temperature is also the same as the case of raising the temperature. to lower the temperature. In addition, when the contact object 30603 is swiped upward in the adjustment area 31401, the set temperature 31601 is raised, and when the contact object 30603 is swiped downward, the set temperature 31601 is lowered, which is the same as that in Fig. 86 same.

FIG. 90 is a diagram showing an operation example of the set temperature of the air conditioner 201 using the adjustment area 31401 . The difference from FIG. 89 is that the part where the contact object 30603 exceeds the adjustment area 31401 is not considered as an operation to change the set temperature 31601 .

In the upper right diagram of FIG. 90 , the contact object 30603 is located within the area of the adjustment area 31401 , but in the lower right diagram, the contact object 30603 is located outside the area of the adjustment area 31401 . In the example of FIG. 90 , the flicked movement amount of the part where the contact object 30603 exceeds the adjustment area 31401 is not considered as the flicked movement amount for changing the set temperature 31601 . Thus, in the upper right diagram→lower right diagram, the set temperature 31601 is maintained at 24 degrees.

Specifically, display control section 103 and device control section 106 obtain the distance between the intersection point of the trajectory of the flick and the outer circumference of adjustment area 31401 and the start point of flicking when the flick exceeds the adjustment area 31401. As the movement amount of the swipe, the amount of change in the set temperature 31601 is determined based on the movement amount of the swipe. In addition, in FIG. 90 , the case where the set temperature 31601 is raised is shown, but when the set temperature 31601 is lowered, similarly to the case where it is raised, the portion beyond the adjustment area 31401 is not considered. Change the set temperature 31601.

91A and 91B are flowcharts showing another example of processing by the home controller 100 to control the device 200 in one embodiment of the present invention.

S32101 to S32103 are the same as S31001 to S31003 in FIG. 80A . In S32104, the display control section 103 displays the floor plan 500 as the device control screen 502 (S32104). In this case, as shown in FIG. 85 , an area on the floor plan 500 corresponding to the room in which the air conditioner 201 selected as the operation target is installed is taken as an adjustment area 31401 , and this floor plan 500 is taken as an air conditioner control screen 31400 . to display.

Next, the display control unit 103 displays the operation status of the corresponding device 200 in the room area where the selected device icon 501 is arranged (S32105). Here, as shown in FIG. 86 , set temperature 31601 is displayed in adjustment area 31401 .

S32106 to S32108 are the same as S31006 to S3108 in FIG. 80B . In S32109, if the contact object is the device control screen 502 (YES in S32109), the control flow of the device control screen 502 (see FIG. 41 ) is executed (S32110), and the process returns to S32106. Here, in FIG. 86, when the contact object 30603 touches the adjustment area 31401, it is determined as "Yes" in S32109, and when the contact object 30603 does not contact the adjustment area 31401, it is determined as "Yes" in S32109. "no". S32111 is the same as S31011 in Fig. 80B.

FIG. 92 is a flowchart of a control flow of the device control screen 502 shown in S32110 of FIG. 91B . First, when touch panel control section 102 detects an operation on an area (adjustment area 31401) on floor plan 500 corresponding to the room in which air conditioner icon 30101 is placed (YES in S32201), it causes the processing The process proceeds to S32202, and when the operation is not detected ("No" in S32201), the process ends.

Next, when the operation detected by touch panel control section 102 is an operation to move the contact object up and down (YES in S32202), the process proceeds to S32203, and if the operation detected by touch panel control section 102 is to move In the case of an operation other than moving the contact object 30603 up and down ("No" in S32202), the process ends. Here, in the case where the contact object 30603 is swiped upward or downward in the adjustment area 31401, it is determined as "YES" in S32202.

Next, the device control section 106 determines the control content of the set temperature 31601 (S32203). Here, when the contact object 30603 is swiped upward in the adjustment area 31401, the device control section 106 changes the current set temperature 31601 by the change amount of the set temperature 31601 corresponding to the movement amount of the swipe. Content is determined as controlling content.

Next, the display control section 103 implements a display corresponding to the setting in the adjustment area 31401 (S32204). Here, as shown in FIG. 86 , set temperature 31601 is displayed in adjustment area 31401 .

Next, the device control section 106 generates a control command corresponding to the control content (S32205). Here, as shown in FIG. 86 , a control command for changing the currently set set temperature 31601 is generated by a change amount corresponding to the movement amount of the touch object 30603 swiped in the adjustment area 31401 . Next, the control command transmission flow (refer to FIG. 41) is executed (S32206).

93 and 94 are diagrams showing another example of transition between the display state of the basic screen and the display state of the air conditioner control screen 30102 . On the basic screen shown in the left diagram of FIG. 93 , the user taps the air conditioner icon 30101 , and touch panel control section 102 detects the tap. Then, display control section 103 switches floor plan 500 to air conditioner control screen 31000 . The air conditioner control screen 31000 is the same as the air conditioner control screen 31400 shown in FIG. 84 , and includes an adjustment area 31401 for adjusting the set temperature of the air conditioner 201 . Here, since the area of the room area on floor plan 500 on which air conditioner icon 30101 is placed is larger than a certain size, display control section 103 switches floor plan 500 to air conditioner control screen 31000 .

On the other hand, when the user taps the air conditioner icon 30104 shown in FIG. 94 and touch panel control section 102 detects the tap, display control section 103 superimposes and displays air conditioner control screen 30102 (an example of an adjustment screen). Layout plan 500 on. The air conditioner control screen 30102 is a dedicated screen for controlling the air conditioner 201 prepared separately from the floor plan 500 .

Since the area of the room area where the air conditioner icon 30104 is arranged is less than a certain size, the display control section 103 displays the air conditioner control screen 30102 instead of the air conditioner control screen 31000 . The control target area 30604 is the room area where the air conditioner icon 30104 is placed.

In this way, if the area of the room area corresponding to the room in which the air conditioner 201 to be operated is installed is larger than a certain size, the room area is set as adjustment area 31401 as shown in FIG. 93 . Therefore, the floor plan 500 already displayed can be used as the adjustment screen of the air conditioner 201, and the use of a separate (independent) operation screen can be suppressed as much as possible.

On the other hand, when the area of the room area corresponding to the room where the air conditioner 201 is installed is less than a certain size, if the room area is set as the adjustment area 31401, since the area of the adjustment area 31401 is small, the user's Operation becomes difficult. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 94 , when the area of the room region corresponding to the room in which the air conditioner 201 is installed is less than or equal to a certain size, the air conditioner control screen 30102 is displayed. Here, the air conditioner control screen 30102 has a certain size in consideration of the user's operability. Therefore, deterioration of operability is prevented. In addition, as the fixed size, it is sufficient to use an area where the user cannot sufficiently perform the flicking operation if the fixed size is smaller than or equal to the fixed size.

Here, display control section 103 may refer to device list 33200A shown in FIG. 102 and room information 33100 shown in FIG. For example, when the device ID 33201 of the air conditioner 201 corresponding to the air conditioner icon 30101 is "A", the display control section 103 specifies the arrangement position (X10, Y80, Z1) of the air conditioner icon 30101 from the arrangement 33204 . Next, display control section 103 refers to room information 33100 shown in FIG. 101 and vertex information 2800 shown in FIG. 31 to specify the room area to which the specified arrangement position (X10, Y80, Z1) belongs. Here, it is assumed that the room area specified as the living room is assumed. Then, display control section 103 determines the area of the room area in which the air conditioner icon 30101 is arranged based on the identified area 33104 of the room area. Here, since the actual room area is registered in the area 33104, the area of the room area as the living room is determined to be 24.3 square meters. Also, when the area 33104 is not registered in the room information 33100 , the display control section 103 may calculate the area of the room area from the vertices of the room area registered in the space coordinates 33103 . In the example of FIG. 101, the living room is surrounded by the vertices of F, G, H, I, L, O, and N. Therefore, the display control unit 103 determines the coordinates of these vertices according to the vertex information 2800 shown in FIG. The area of the room area of the living room may be obtained from the determined coordinates of each vertex.

In FIG. 101 , the actual area of the room is used as the area 33104 . In this case, display control section 103 may convert the actual area into the area on floor plan 500 and determine whether or not the room area to which it belongs is smaller than a certain size. Alternatively, the display control unit 103 may prestore an area corresponding to an actual room as a certain size, and compare the certain size with the area 33104 to determine whether the corresponding room area is below a certain size.

FIG. 95 is a diagram showing another example of an adjustment area 32502 displayed when an air conditioner icon 30104 placed in a room area of a certain size or less is selected.

In the example of FIG. 95 , instead of the air conditioner control screen 30102 , the control target area 30604 included in the enlarged and displayed floor plan 32501 is used as the adjustment area 32502 for adjusting the air conditioner 201 . In this case, even when the area of the room area is less than a certain size, the user can operate the air conditioner 201 by the same operations as when the area is larger than a certain size.

Here, display control section 103 sets the enlargement factor of floor plan 500 so that control target region 30604 is enlarged to an area where the user can sufficiently perform a flick operation. Then, display control section 103 obtains a screen in which floor plan 500 is enlarged with the set magnification factor as enlarged floor plan 32501 , and displays it on display 101 .

In addition, as the magnification factor, for example, a value at which the control target region 30604 is magnified to a predetermined size that allows the user to perform a sufficient flick operation may be used.

FIG. 96 is a diagram showing still another example of the adjustment area 32601 displayed when the air conditioner icon 30104 arranged in the room area of a certain size or less shown in FIG. 94 is selected.

In the case of FIG. 96 , the display control section 103 cuts out the room area in which the air conditioner icon 30104 is arranged, generates an area in which the room area is enlarged at a predetermined magnification factor as an adjustment area 32601 , and overlaps the generated adjustment area 32601 is displayed on the layout diagram 500. In the example of FIG. 96, the adjustment area 32601 is displayed at a position that does not overlap with the corresponding room area. Therefore, as the magnification factor when generating adjustment area 32601 , for example, a value such that adjustment area 32601 is displayed as large as possible within floor plan 500 and does not overlap with the room area where air conditioner icon 30104 is arranged may be used. Alternatively, as the magnification factor when generating the adjustment area 32601 , for example, a value in which the area of the room area in which the air conditioner icon 30104 is placed is enlarged to a predetermined size may be used.

Here, for example, the adjustment area 32601 may be displayed with its center located at the center of the display area of the display 101 , or may be displayed with its center located at the center of the floor plan 500 . Thereby, the adjustment area 32601 is displayed at a conspicuous position within the display area of the display 101, and the user's operation becomes easy.

In addition, in the room area where the air conditioner icon 30104 is arranged, the color corresponding to the set temperature is added similarly to FIG. 75 . In addition, a gray layer is displayed on the floor plan 500 other than the room area where the air conditioner icon 30104 is arranged. As a result, the room area where the air conditioner icon 30104 is placed is displayed more prominently than other areas, and the user can perform operations with a sense of presence.

In the example of FIG. 96, the background of the adjustment area 32601 is displayed in a bright color (for example, white). The background has the shape of a bubble mark blown from the associated room area. Thus, the user can quickly recognize which room area is indicated by the adjustment area 32601 .

FIG. 97 is a diagram showing an operation example using the adjustment area 32601 shown in FIG. 96 . A set temperature 32701 is displayed in the adjustment area 32601 . It is assumed that the touch panel control section 102 detects that the touch object 30603 in the adjustment area 32601 is swiped upward. Then, the display control section 103 raises the set temperature 32701 according to the movement amount of the upward swipe. In the example of the upper left diagram → upper right diagram in FIG. 97 , the set temperature 32701 rises from 20 degrees to 22 degrees according to the movement amount of the upward swipe. Similarly, the set temperature 32701 rises from 22 degrees to 24 degrees from the upper right diagram in Fig. 97 to the lower right diagram. In addition, the color of the room area corresponding to the adjustment area 32601 is changed along with the change of the set temperature 32701 through the upper left diagram→the upper right diagram→the lower right diagram. In the example of FIG. 97, the set temperature 32701 is raised, so the color of the room area is changed to a darker color.

On the other hand, when the contact object 30603 is swiped downward in the adjustment area 32601, as shown in the lower right diagram → upper right diagram → upper left diagram of FIG. 97 , the set temperature 31601 drops to 24 degrees → 22 degrees → 20 degrees.

In addition, when two or more air conditioners 201 are installed in a room corresponding to the adjustment area 32601, the adjustment area 32601 serves as the device control screen 502 for collectively adjusting the set temperature 32701 of these plural air conditioners 201. to use.

In addition, when the touch object 30603 in the adjustment area 32601 is swiped beyond the adjustment area 32601 by the display control section 103 and the device control section 106, the excess portion may be treated as a valid swipe to change the setting. For the temperature 32701, the part exceeding the temperature 32701 may be treated as an invalid stroke and the set temperature 32701 may be changed.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 97, the set temperature 32701 is changed according to the movement amount of the touch object 30603 in the adjustment area 32601, but this embodiment is not limited thereto, and the set temperature 32701 may be changed according to the adjustment area 32601. The direction in which the touch object 30603 is swiped is changed. The details of changing the set temperature 32701 according to the direction of the swipe have already been described with reference to FIG. 82 , so the description is omitted here. In addition, when the set temperature 32701 is changed according to the direction of the swipe, the change amount of the set temperature 32701 may be determined including the part exceeding the adjustment area 32601, or may be determined without including the part exceeding the adjustment area 32601. Set the change amount of temperature 32701.

98A and 98B are flowcharts of still another example of processing by the home controller 100 to control the device 200 in one embodiment of the present invention.

S32801 to S32803 are the same as S31001 to S31003 in FIG. 80A . In S32804, when the area of the room area in which the selected device icon 501 is arranged is less than a certain size (YES in S32804), the display control section 103 displays the device control screen 502 (S32805). Here, the air conditioner control screen 30102 shown in the right diagram of FIG. 94 is displayed.

On the other hand, when the area of the room area where the selected device icon 501 is placed is larger than a certain size (NO in S32804), the display control section 103 displays the floor plan 500 as the device control screen 502 ( S32806).

Here, the air conditioner control screen 31000 including the adjustment area 31401 shown in the right diagram of FIG. 93 is displayed as the device control screen 502 . S32807 to S32809 are the same as S31006 to S31008 in FIG. 80B .

In S32810, if the contact object is the device control screen 502 (YES in S32810), a device-specific control flow is executed (S32811), and the process returns to S32807. Here, when the contact object 30603 touches the adjustment area 31401 shown in the right diagram of FIG. 93 or the air conditioner control screen 30102 shown in the right diagram of FIG. When the contact object 30603 does not contact the adjustment area 31401 or the air conditioner control screen 30102, it is determined as "No" in S32810. Next, a device-specific control flow is executed (S32811). Here, as S32911, the flow of FIG. 81, FIG. 83, and FIG. 92 is applied.

99A and 99B are flowcharts of still another example of processing by the home controller 100 to control the device 200 in one embodiment of the present invention.

S32901 to S32903 are the same as S31001 to S31003 in FIG. 80A . In S32904, when the area of the room area in which the selected device icon 501 is placed is less than a certain size (YES in S32904), the display control section 103 enlarges the room area and displays it as an adjustment area (S32905 ). Here, the enlarged floor plan 32501 shown in FIG. 95 or the enlarged room area shown in FIG. 96 is used as the adjustment area 32601 , and the floor plan 500 superimposed on the adjustment area 32601 is displayed.

On the other hand, when the area of the room area where the selected device icon 501 is placed is larger than a certain size (NO in S32904), the display control section 103 displays the floor plan 500 as the device control screen 502 ( S32906). Here, an air conditioner control screen 31000 using an adjustment area 31401 shown in the right diagram of FIG. 93 as a device control screen 502 is displayed. S32907 to S32909 are the same as S31006 to S3108 in FIG. 80B .

In S32910, if the contact object is not the device control screen 502 (NO in S32910), the process proceeds to S32912. S32921 is the same as S31011 shown in Fig. 80B. Here, when the contact object 30603 touches the adjustment area 31401 shown in the right diagram of FIG. 93 , the adjustment area 32502 shown in FIG. 95 , or the adjustment area 32601 shown in FIG. 96 , it is determined in S32910 that " Yes", and in other cases, it is determined as "No" in S32910.

Next, a device-specific control flow is executed (S32911). Here, as S32911, the flow of FIG. 81, FIG. 83, and FIG. 92 is applied.

FIG. 100 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display state of an air conditioner control screen 30102 in which an effective range 33001 is displayed in a control target area 30103 . For the display screen shown in FIG. 100 , for example, when the air conditioner icon 30101 is tapped on the basic screen shown in FIG. show. In FIG. 100 , an effect range 33001 is set for the room area where the air conditioner icon 30101 is placed.

The effect range 33001 is displayed superimposed on the control target area 30103 , and indicates the range of the operation effect of the air conditioner 201 to be adjusted. Specifically, the effect area 33001 is an image briefly showing the directivity of the wind output from the air conditioner 201 , and indicates the range where the output wind reaches according to the air volume and air direction of the air conditioner 201 currently set.

Furthermore, the display control section 103 displays gray layers in areas on the floor plan 500 other than the control target area 30103 . As a result, the control target area 30103 is displayed brighter than other areas. In addition, display control section 103 displays air conditioner control screen 30102 in an area on floor plan 500 other than control target area 30103 . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the effect range 33001 from being covered by the air conditioner control screen 30102 .

Also, when displaying the display screen shown in FIG. 100 , display control section 103 retracts device icons 501 arranged on floor plan 500 out of the display area of floor plan 500 .

FIG. 101 is a diagram showing the structure of room information 33100 used in the control example of the air conditioner 201 . Room information 33100 includes room ID 33101 , room type 33102 , space coordinates 33103 , and area 33104 . Room ID 33101 , room type 33102 , and space coordinates 33103 are the same as information of the same name in room information 2900 . The area of the room indicated by the room ID 33101 is registered in the area 33104 . Here, the area of the actual room is registered as the area 33104 , but the present invention is not limited to this, and the area of the room area on the floor plan 500 may be registered.

FIG. 102 is a diagram showing the configuration of device lists 33200A and 33200B used in the control example of the air conditioner 201 . At least the home controller 100 holds device lists 33200A, 33200B.

Device list 33200A includes device ID 33201 , device type 33202 , model 33203 , configuration 33204 , capability information 33205 , control command destination 33206 , and corresponding area 33207 .

The device ID 33201 , device type 33202 , model 33203 , configuration 33204 , capability information 33205 , and control command destination 33206 are the same as the information of the same name in the device list 4700 . The corresponding area 33207 represents the area of the effective range of the output of the device 200 . For example, since the air conditioner 201 whose device ID 33201 is “A” has an output effect of 22.7 square meters, “22.7” is registered in the corresponding area 33207 . In addition, since the output capacity of this air conditioner 201 is 4.0 kW, "4.0 kW" is also registered in the corresponding area 33207 .

In addition, since the output range of the lighting device whose device ID is "B" is 16.2 square meters, "16.2" is registered in the corresponding area 33207 . In addition, since this lighting device has the ability to output light of 5000lm at 73W, “5000lm, 73W” is also registered in the corresponding area 33207 .

The device list 33200B includes a device ID 33208 , a front direction 33209 , and a wind direction 33210 . The device ID 33208 is an identifier assigned to the air conditioner 201 . The device list 33200B is associated with the device list 33200A by the device ID 33208 and the device ID 33201 .

The front direction 33209 shows which direction the front of the air conditioner 201 in the floor plan 500 faces. Here, the front direction 33209 represents the angle formed by the horizontal direction (X-axis) of the floor plan 500 and the normal line of the front of the air conditioner 201 .

Wind direction 33210 represents the relative angle of the wind direction of the air conditioner 201 currently set when the front direction is assumed to be 0 degrees.

The coordinate diagram at the bottom right of FIG. 102 is a coordinate diagram representing the relationship between the wind direction and the frontal direction. The horizontal axis represents that the angle relative to the X-axis of the floor plan 500 is 0 degrees, and the vertical axis represents the angle relative to the X-axis of the floor plan 500. The angle is 90 degrees. In the example of the device list 33200B, the air conditioner 201 whose device ID is "A" has a front direction 33209 of 0 degrees and a wind direction 33210 of 45 degrees. Accordingly, as shown in the graph, the wind direction of the floor plan 500 of the air conditioner 201 is calculated to be 45 degrees (=0 degrees+45 degrees).

FIG. 103 is a diagram showing an effect range 33001 in which the wind direction is changed. For example, by operating the air conditioner control screen 30102 in a state where the effect range 33001 shown in FIG. 100 is displayed, the wind direction is changed counterclockwise on the floor plan 500 . Then, as shown in FIG. 103 , display control section 103 deforms the shape of effect range 33001 so that the directivity is oriented in the changed wind direction.

On the other hand, it is assumed that the wind direction returns to the original direction by operating the air conditioner control screen 30102 in a state where the effect range 33001 shown in FIG. 103 is displayed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 100 , the shape of the effect area 33001 is deformed so that the directivity faces the original direction.

Specifically, it is assumed that touch panel control section 102 detects a flick operation of the wind direction indicator mark to the right on air conditioner control screen 30102 . In this case, display control section 103 calculates the change amount of the wind direction based on the movement amount of the right swipe, rotates the wind direction direction 33210 registered in the device list 33200B counterclockwise according to the change amount, and aligns it with the front face. The direction 33209 is added to obtain the changed wind direction on the floor plan 500 . Then, display control section 103 deforms effect range 33001 so that directivity faces the changed wind direction. In addition, when the wind direction indicator mark is swiped to the left, the display control unit 103 rotates the wind direction direction 33210 clockwise by an amount corresponding to the swiped amount, and adds it to the front direction 33209 to obtain the layout diagram. Just change the wind direction on the 500.

In this way, by displaying the effect range 33001 , the user can visually clarify the range of the effect of the wind output according to the currently set wind direction of the air conditioner 201 . Accordingly, it is possible to provide the user with information for determining whether to move from the current position to a position within the effect range 33001 or to change the wind direction so that the effect range 33001 reaches the current position.

FIG. 104 is a diagram showing a floor plan 500 from which the air conditioner control screen 30102 has been eliminated. When an air conditioner icon that has retreated out of the area of floor plan 500 is tapped on the display screen of FIG. 103 , display control section 103 erases air conditioner control screen 30102 as shown in FIG. 104 . In this case, since the air conditioner control screen 30102 is eliminated from the floor plan 500 , the user can be more clearly aware of the existence of the effect area 33001 .

Fig. 105 is a diagram showing an effect range 33001 when the air volume is changed. For example, it is assumed that the air volume is changed by operating the air conditioner control screen 30102 in a state where the effect range 33001 shown in FIG. 100 is displayed. Then, as shown in FIG. 105 , display control section 103 changes the shape of effect range 33001 so that it becomes a size corresponding to the changed air volume. In the example of FIG. 105 , since the air volume is increased, the effect range 33001 is deformed so as to become larger according to the increased air volume. Here, in the air conditioner control screen 30102, the screen showing the wind direction is enlarged in order to increase the air volume. Therefore, the number of wind direction indicators increases. On the other hand, when reducing the air volume, the screen showing the wind direction is reduced on the air conditioner control screen 30102 .

In addition, it is assumed that the air volume is decreased by operating the air conditioner control screen 30102 in a state where the effective range 33001 shown in FIG. 105 is displayed. Then, as shown in FIG. 100 , the effective range 31001 is deformed so as to become smaller in accordance with the reduced air volume.

Specifically, it is assumed that touch panel control section 102 detects the reduction of the wind direction indicator. Then, the display control section 103 obtains the change amount of the air volume corresponding to the reduction amount, decreases the change amount from the currently set air volume, and obtains the changed air volume. Then, display control section 103 deforms effect range 33001 so that it becomes an area corresponding to the changed air volume. On the other hand, when the airflow direction indicator is enlarged, the display control unit 103 obtains the change amount of the air flow corresponding to the enlarged amount, adds the change amount to the currently set air flow, and obtains the changed air flow, that is, Can.

In this way, by displaying the effect range 33001 , the user can visually clarify the range of the effect of the wind output according to the currently set air volume of the air conditioner 201 . In this way, it is possible to provide the user with judgment material for moving from the current position to a position within the effect range 33001 or changing the air volume so that the effect range 33001 reaches the current position.

FIG. 106 is a diagram showing an effect range 33001 in which the level of the effect is displayed hierarchically (stepwise). In the example in FIG. 106 , the effect range 33001 includes an inner area and an outer area surrounding the inner area. The inner area is an area where the effect is high, and the outer area is an area where the effect is low. The inner area is displayed in a darker color than the outer area, for example, and the level of effect is displayed in two levels. Thereby, the user can see at a glance an area with a high effect. In addition, in the example of FIG. 106 , the effect range 33001 displays the level of effect in two levels, but this embodiment is not limited thereto, and may be displayed in other than two levels such as three levels and four levels. In this case, display control section 103 may display effect range 33001 in a color that is darker as the effect is higher. When the effect range 33001 is represented by three or more levels, as in the case of two levels, display control section 103 divides the effect range 33001 into a plurality of areas such that the outer area surrounds the adjacent inner area so that The effect area 33001 may be displayed in a darker color as the inner area is. Here, display control section 103 may set transparency for each region constituting effect range 33001 , and display that the inner region of effect range 33001 has lower transparency. Alternatively, the display control unit 103 may also use the same color tone to represent all regions, and represent the effect range 33001 so that the inner region has higher chroma. Alternatively, display control section 103 may determine the color tone of each region so that the inner region is closer to red, thereby indicating the effect range 33001 .

Display control section 103 obtains the default shape of corresponding effect range 33001 of air conditioner 201 by expanding or reducing, for example, a predetermined basic shape of effect range 33001 based on corresponding area 33207 registered in device list 33200A. Then, the display control unit 103 may deform the default shape according to the currently set air volume and air direction of the air conditioner 201 to generate the effect range 33001 displayed on the display 111 .

In addition, when the generated effect range 33001 overflows the control target area 30103 , display control section 103 may deform the shape of the effect range 33001 so that the control falls within the control target area 30103 . In this case, display control section 103 may deform effect range 33001 so that the area of effect range 33001 is maintained before and after the deformation.

107A and 107B are flowcharts of still another example in which the home controller 100 controls the device 200 in one embodiment of the present invention. S33701 to S33704 shown in FIG. 107A are the same as S31001 to S31004 in FIG. 80A .

In S33705, the display control section 103 displays the effect range corresponding to the device 200 in the room area where the selected device icon 501 is arranged. Here, as shown in FIG. 100 , an effect range 33001 is displayed on a control target area 30103 .

S33706 to S33711 shown in FIG. 107B are the same as S31006 to S31011 shown in FIG. 80A .

FIG. 108 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen 502 at S33710 in FIG. 107B . In addition, FIG. 108 is a flowchart in the case of adjusting the wind direction and the air volume on the device control screen 502 . S33801 to S33810 are the same as S31101 to S31110 shown in FIG. 81 .

In S33811 , display control section 103 displays effect range 33001 corresponding to the setting in control target area 30103 . Here, an effective range 33001 deformed according to the wind direction as shown in FIG. 103 and an effective range 33001 deformed according to the air volume as shown in FIG. 105 are displayed.

S33812 and S33813 are the same as S31112 and S31113 shown in FIG. 81 .

In addition, in the above description, the effect area 33001 shows the wind direction and air volume, but this embodiment is not limited thereto, and the effect area 33001 may have the function of indicating the set temperature. In this case, display control section 103 may increase the density of effect range 33001 as the set temperature increases. In addition, the display control section 103 may lighten the density of the effect area 33001 as the set temperature decreases.

FIG. 109 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the device control screen 502 at S33710 in FIG. 107B . FIG. 109 is a flowchart of a case where temperature is adjusted on the device control screen 502 .

S33901 to S33903 are the same as S31301 to S31303 shown in FIG. 83 . In S33904, display control section 103 displays effect range 33001 corresponding to the setting in control target area 30103. S33905 and S33906 are the same as S31305 and S31306 shown in FIG. 83 .

FIG. 110 is a diagram showing an example of operation using the area of effect 33001 of the contact object 30603 . As shown in FIG. 110(A)→(B), it is assumed that the contact object 30603 is flicked in the directivity direction of the effect range 33001 (direction away from the image of the air conditioner 201). Specifically, it is assumed that the swipe detected by touch panel control section 102 is parallel to the currently set wind direction on floor plan 500 and goes outside the effect range 33001 . In this case, display control section 103 deforms effect range 33001 so as to extend in the directivity direction according to the movement amount of the swipe.

Then, when the touch panel control unit 102 detects that the swipe of the contact object 30603 ends, the device control unit 106 generates a control command for increasing the currently set air volume according to the movement amount of the swipe, and sends it to the network .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 110(B)→(A), it is assumed that the touch object 30603 is swiped in a direction that narrows the directivity direction of the effect range 33001 (a direction approaching the image of the air conditioner 201). Specifically, the swipe detected by the touch panel control unit 102 is parallel to the currently set wind direction on the floor plan 500 and directed toward the inside of the effect range 33001 . In this case, display control section 103 deforms effect range 33001 so as to shrink in the directivity direction according to the movement amount of the swipe.

Then, when touch panel control section 102 detects that the swipe of contact object 30603 ends, device control section 106 generates a control command for reducing the currently set air volume according to the movement amount of the swipe, and sends it to the network.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 110(A)→(D), it is assumed that the contact object 30603 is swiped in the counterclockwise direction. In this case, display control section 103 deforms effect area 33001 so that the current directivity direction of effect area 33001 is changed according to the rotation amount of the swipe.

Then, when the touch panel control section 102 detects that the swipe of the contact object 30603 ends, the device control section 106 generates a control command for changing the currently set wind direction to a direction corresponding to the swiped rotation amount, and sent to the network.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 110(D)→(A), it is assumed that the contact object 30603 is swiped in the clockwise direction. In this case, display control section 103 deforms effect area 33001 so that the current directivity direction of effect area 33001 is changed according to the rotation amount of the swipe.

Then, when the touch panel control section 102 detects that the swipe of the contact object 30603 ends, the device control section 106 generates a control command for changing the currently set wind direction to a direction corresponding to the swiped rotation amount, and sent to the network.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 110(A)→(C), it is assumed that the contact object 30603 is swiped in an obliquely upward direction to the right with respect to the directivity direction of the effect range 33001 . Specifically, it is assumed that the flick detected by touch panel control section 102 faces obliquely upward to the right with respect to the currently set wind direction in floor plan 500 . In this case, display control section 103 deforms effect area 33001 so as to change the current directivity direction of effect area 33001 according to the amount of rotation of the swipe, and changes the directivity direction of effect area 33001 according to the amount of movement of the swipe. The way of extending in the direction makes the effect range 33001 deformed.

Then, when the touch panel control section 102 detects that the touch object 30603 has been swiped to an end, the device control section 106 generates a method for changing the currently set wind direction to an angle corresponding to the swiped rotation amount and changing the current wind direction to an angle corresponding to the swiped rotation amount. A control command to increase the set air volume to an air volume corresponding to the movement amount of the swipe is sent to the network.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 110(C)→(A), when the touch object 30603 is swiped obliquely downward to the left with respect to the directivity direction of the effect range 33001, the display control unit 103 operates according to The effect area 33001 is deformed so that the directivity direction of the effect area 33001 is changed by the rotation amount of the swipe, and the effect area 33001 is deformed so as to shorten in the directional direction according to the movement amount of the swipe.

FIG. 111 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the home controller 100 when the effective area 33001 is operated. First, when the touch panel control section 102 detects an operation on the effect range 33001 (YES in S34101), the display control section 103 changes the effect range 33001 displayed on the control target area 30103 according to the detected operation (S34102 ).

On the other hand, when touch panel control section 102 has not detected an operation on effect area 33001 ("No" in S34101), the process ends.

Next, the device control section 106 determines control content for changing at least one of the wind direction and the air volume according to the detected operation (S34103). Next, the device control section 106 generates a control command corresponding to the control content (S34104). Next, the device control section 106 advances the processing to the control command transmission flow (see FIG. 41 ) (S34105).

In this way, when an operation to change the shape of the effect area 33001 is input, at least one of the orientation and the air volume is changed according to the operation, so that the user can operate the air conditioner 201 with an operational feeling as if an unrecognizable wind is operated. .

In addition, in the control example of the air conditioner 201 described above, the user inputs the operation of the air conditioner 201 by swiping the touch object 30603, but this embodiment is not limited to this, and the operation of the air conditioner 201 may be input by dragging the mouse. operate. In addition, although the user has input the operation for selecting the device icon 501 by tapping, it is also possible to input the operation for selecting the device icon 501 by clicking the mouse.

Industrial availability

According to the present invention, since the adjustment area and the adjustment screen are switched and displayed according to the area of the area corresponding to the room in the floor plan, it is useful when using the portable information terminal as a remote controller of the air conditioner.

Claims (38)

1. A control method of a portable information terminal, the portable information terminal is connected to a network controlling one or more target devices, and has a touch panel display, The control method includes the following steps for the computer execution of the portable information terminal: a step of displaying a display screen representing a layout plan of a building on the touch panel display; a step of displaying an icon representing each of the one or more target devices, including an air conditioner, on a display screen representing the floor plan; When selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to a certain room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, it is determined to be equivalent to the certain room. The step of using the area itself as an adjustment area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner; When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within a range corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an adjustment screen is displayed in an overlapping manner. In the step of displaying a screen, the adjustment screen is a screen for changing a set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room; When it is detected that the touch on the touch panel display moves within the adjustment area or the adjustment screen, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch is output to the The steps of the network. 2. The control method according to claim 1, The adjustment screen is an enlarged display of an area corresponding to the other room. 3. The control method according to claim 1, The adjustment picture is superimposed and displayed on the display picture at the center of the display picture. 4. The control method according to claim 2, The adjustment picture is superimposed and displayed on the display picture at the center of the display picture. 5. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, the and outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner to the network. 6. The control method according to claim 2, further comprising: When the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, the and outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner to the network. 7. The control method according to claim 3, further comprising: When the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, the and outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner to the network. 8. The control method according to claim 4, further comprising: In the case where the movement start point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even if the movement by the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, the movement by the contact including the excess part is made outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner to the network. 9. The control method according to claim 1, When the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch. 10. The control method according to claim 2, When the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch. 11. The control method according to claim 3, When the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch. 12. The control method according to claim 4, When the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch. 13. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, The larger the contact movement, the greater the change in the set temperature of the air conditioner, and the smaller the contact movement, the smaller the change in the set temperature of the air conditioner. 14. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: When the movement start point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment area, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the area corresponding to the certain room, the The step of outputting to the network a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner based on the amount of movement of the contact. 15. The control method according to claim 13, further comprising: When the movement start point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment area, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the area corresponding to the certain room, the The step of outputting to the network a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner based on the amount of movement of the contact. 16. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, When the movement of the contact exceeds an area corresponding to the certain room, the set temperature of the air conditioner is not changed in accordance with the movement amount of the contact for the excess portion. 17. The control method according to claim 13, When the movement of the contact exceeds an area corresponding to the certain room, the set temperature of the air conditioner is not changed in accordance with the movement amount of the contact for the excess portion. 18. A control method of a portable information terminal, which is connected to a network controlling one or more target devices and has a touch panel display, The control method includes the following steps for the computer execution of the portable information terminal: a step of displaying a display screen representing a layout plan of a building on the touch panel display; a step of displaying, on a display screen representing the floor plan, an icon representing each of the one or more target devices, the one or more target devices including an air conditioner; When selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to a certain room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, the corresponding room is determined. The step of using the region itself as an adjustment region for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner; When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within a range corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an adjustment screen is displayed in an overlapping manner. In the step of displaying a screen, the adjustment screen is a screen for changing a set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room; When it is detected that the contact on the touch panel display moves in either the adjustment area or the adjustment screen, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the contact is detected. Steps to output to the network. 19. The control method according to claim 18, The adjustment screen is an enlarged display of an area corresponding to the certain room. 20. The control method according to claim 18, The adjustment picture is superimposed and displayed on the display picture at the center of the display picture. 21. The control method according to claim 19, The adjustment picture is superimposed and displayed on the display picture at the center of the display picture. 22. The control method according to claim 18, further comprising: In the case where the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, the movement direction of the contact including the excess part is made and outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner to the network. 23. The control method according to claim 19, further comprising: In the case where the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, the movement direction of the contact including the excess part is made and outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner to the network. 24. The control method according to claim 20, further comprising: In the case where the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, the movement direction of the contact including the excess part is made and outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner to the network. 25. The control method according to claim 21, further comprising: In the case where the movement starting point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment screen, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the adjustment screen, the movement direction of the contact including the excess part is made and outputting a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner to the network. 26. The control method according to claim 18, When the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the touch. 27. The control method according to claim 19, When the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the touch. 28. The control method according to claim 20, When the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the touch. 29. The control method according to claim 21, When the movement of the touch exceeds the adjustment screen, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the touch. 30. The control method according to any one of claims 18-29, further comprising: When it is detected that the moving direction of the touch is an upward direction of the display screen, increasing the set temperature of the air conditioner in a higher direction; A step of lowering the set temperature of the air conditioner in a lower direction when it is detected that the moving direction of the touch is a downward direction of the display screen. 31. The control method according to any one of claims 18-29, further comprising: When the movement start point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment area, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the area corresponding to the certain room, the The step of outputting to the network a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the contact. 32. The control method according to claim 30, further comprising: When the movement start point of the contact is detected within the range of the adjustment area, even if the movement of the contact exceeds the area corresponding to the certain room, the The step of outputting to the network a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the contact. 33. The control method according to any one of claims 18-29, When the movement of the touch exceeds an area corresponding to the certain room, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the touch. 34. The control method according to claim 30, When the movement of the touch exceeds an area corresponding to the certain room, the excess portion does not change the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the touch. 35. A portable information terminal, which is connected to a network controlling one or more target devices and has a touch panel display, Described portable information terminal possesses for its computer: displaying a display screen representing a floor plan of a building on the unit of the touch panel display; means for displaying an icon representing each of the one or more target devices on the display screen representing the floor plan, the one or more target devices including an air conditioner; When selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to a certain room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, it is determined to be equivalent to the certain room. The area itself is used as an adjustment area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner; When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within a range corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an adjustment screen is displayed in an overlapping manner. In the means for displaying a screen, the adjustment screen is a screen for changing a set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room; When it is detected that the touch on the touch panel display moves within the adjustment area or the adjustment screen, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch is output to the elements of the network. 36. A portable information terminal, which is connected to a network controlling one or more target devices and has a touch panel display, Described portable information terminal possesses for its computer: displaying a display screen representing a floor plan of a building on the unit of the touch panel display; A unit that displays an icon representing each of the one or more target devices on the display screen representing the floor plan, the one or more target devices including an air conditioner; When selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to a certain room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, it is determined to be equivalent to the certain room. The area itself is used as an adjustment area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner; When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within a range corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an adjustment screen is displayed in an overlapping manner. In the means for displaying a screen, the adjustment screen is a screen for changing a set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room; When it is detected that the contact on the touch panel display moves in either the adjustment area or the adjustment screen, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the contact output to the unit of the network. 37. A recording medium recording a program executed by a portable information terminal connected to a network controlling one or more target devices and having a touch panel display, The program is aimed at the computer of the portable information terminal, displaying a display screen representing a layout plan of a building on the touch panel display; causing an icon representing each of the one or more target devices to be displayed on the display screen representing the floor plan, the one or more target devices including an air conditioner; When selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to a certain room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, it is determined to be equivalent to the certain room. The area itself is used as an adjustment area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner; When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within a range corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an adjustment screen is displayed in an overlapping manner. In the display screen, the adjustment screen is a screen for changing a set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room; When it is detected that the touch on the touch panel display moves within the adjustment area or the adjustment screen, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the movement amount of the touch is output to the the network. 38. A recording medium recording a program executed by a portable information terminal connected to a network controlling one or more target devices and having a touch panel display, The program is aimed at the computer of the portable information terminal, displaying a display screen representing a layout plan of a building on the touch panel display; causing an icon representing each of the one or more target devices to be displayed on the display screen representing the floor plan, the one or more target devices including an air conditioner; When selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within an area corresponding to a certain room exceeding a predetermined area in the floor plan, it is determined to be equivalent to the certain room. The area itself is used as an adjustment area for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner; When a selection of an icon representing an air conditioner among the one or more target devices is detected within a range corresponding to another room having a predetermined area or less in the floor plan, an adjustment screen is displayed in an overlapping manner. In the display screen, the adjustment screen is a screen for changing a set temperature of an air conditioner installed in an area corresponding to the other room; When it is detected that the contact on the touch panel display moves in either the adjustment area or the adjustment screen, a control command for changing the set temperature of the air conditioner according to the moving direction of the contact output to the network.